BUFFALO (WBEN) - Local parks and recreation commissioners are excited about a sense of normalcy being reintroduced to the various parks systems in Western New York as the world continues to heal from the pandemic.
On Thursday, Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Mike Finn announced that all basketball hoops have been reinstalled at courts across the city, and he added that tennis courts are expected to go up April 1.
According to Erie County Parks Commissioner Troy Schinzel, their basketball and tennis courts are likely to be up in about three weeks.
Schinzel says the Erie County parks system is bracing for a ton of traffic this spring and summer as most people have essentially been cooped up inside.
"We have over 10,000 acres of park land, and what we keep telling people is to explore - go to some of those forestry lots or other areas that you may have not heard of and go see some of those other acres," said Schinzel, saying they did have an overcrowding issue last year. "Typically in the spring, people around Western New York have cabin fever anyway, but with the pandemic and restrictions, we anticipate more people than ever, and we'll try to work through some of those hoops to certainly provide the best services but also a safe environment."
Town of Tonawanda Parks and Recreation Superintendent Mark Campanella noted that their decision on timing to reopen basketball and tennis courts will come down to weather.
"Memorial day is somewhat of a right of passage as far as our shelters and our pavilions getting rented out for summer functions," said Campanella. "Right now, they're still at 50% occupancy, but as more people get vaccinated, I'm quite sure we'll see a lot of guidelines being loosened up...we're pretty darn excited here."
"I'm just excited for Western New York and everybody coming out to our parks that some sort of normal will be back in our parks system, hopefully; we're trending in the right direction," said Schinzel. "I'm excited for our staff and the public to be able to enjoy what they used to be able to enjoy in other years, whether it's Chestnut, Emery, our forestry lots, our golf courses, our campgrounds - those were all affected in one way or another."
