One block north of the Downtown Mall, directly adjacent to Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, lies Lee Park. It’s the block of public green space surrounding a bronze sculpture of the Confederate general, and for years, the people have been permitted to mosey around the equestrian war statue until 11pm. Now, after a slew of disturbance calls to Charlottesville’s finest from residents close to the park, a new ordinance that City Council looks to pass at its next meeting will render Lee Park off limits to the public every day at 9pm.
 Lee Park, not so spooky from 9pm to 11pm. At least it wasn’t when our reporter was on the scene. |
In an effort to “improve patron safety and reduce vandalism,” Mike Svetz, director of parks and recreation, recently conjured the new ordinance with the blessing of the police department, the city attorney and city manager. Assuming it goes through, individuals caught in the park between 9pm and 6am will be subject to a Class Three misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $500.
To get a sense of the danger level at Lee Park after dark, I spent some time with Bob Lee and his mighty steed during the soon-to-be-forbidden nighttime hours of 9pm to 11pm. A couple, apparently falling out of love, had an argument on a nearby bench. I noticed that a park patron had left a tablecloth over one of the cement chessboards—could this be the kind of vandalism city officials are referring to? At 9:45, a silver-haired couple in their dinner party duds strolled by. In a matter of weeks, this pair of 70-somethings will be considered criminals as they make their way to their favorite dish on the Mall.
Just shy of 10:30, a passer-by hard on his luck asked me if I had any change. He had “missed the free dinner at the church that night.” I didn’t feel unsafe when I gave him what I had, but might another classify this encounter as a “disturbance?” Unfortunately, I’d say that many who don’t get off their couch very often at night, would.
With that, my adventure was over. Perhaps I was just out on an unusually safe night. Or I wonder if perhaps those who have been ringing the Charlottesville PD phone off the hook are residents fearing their lives or residents who have seen one too many episodes of “CSI: Miami.”
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