Some residents want to curb street ball

Go work on your jump shot somewhere else.

That's the sentiment expressed by some residents in south Cape Girardeau who are having trouble driving through pickup basketball games in the middle of city streets.

In numerous locations in south Cape Girardeau neighborhoods, portable basketball goals are set up along curbs. Some residents in the neighborhood complain that these makeshift playgrounds impede traffic. Some also are concerned that a child could be hit by a car.

Councilman Charlie Herbst, a former police officer, brought up the issue at the last council meeting. He said he received comments from two individuals that children would not interrupt their basketball games to let a car proceed down the street.

There are no city ordinances against playing basketball in the street -- they only mandate what types of balls can be thrown or batted. There is an ordinance, however, that prohibits holding up traffic.

And that is exactly what happens, Robert Foulk says, when he tries to drive to his home on South Pacific.

Foulk says the participants are disrespectful and have forced him to turn around and take a different route home.

"Whenever all those kids are out there playing basketball, I have to wait till they decide to let me by," he said. "They'll throw trash in the street and sometimes yell obscenities."

Too hot to walk far

Dominique Smith, 15, and Kaylen Harris, 14, played ball Monday evening on a goal at the corner of Henderson and Independence, arguably the most dangerous placement of the six goals that could be spotted during a casual drive around the southern part of Cape Girardeau.

Smith and Harris, slipping and sliding on the blacktop after a late-afternoon rain, said they didn't think playing on the street was dangerous and said they always get out of the way when traffic approaches. Smith said he always runs down the ball before it rolls onto Independence.

Harris said he plays at the goal every day. The nearest court is at Capaha Park.

"It's too hot to walk that far," he said.

Enforcing the ordinance can be difficult, police Sgt. Rick Schmidt says, because someone has to sign the complaint, and the person making the complaint must be able to identify the subjects. Either that, or an officer must witness the event.

Schmidt says he understands why young people would play in the street.

"Generally, I don't condone playing in the street," he said. "In some neighborhoods, it's a long walking distance to a park or basketball goal, and there is nowhere to play but the street. But the main thing is, we don't want them to get hurt."

Not all are upset

At the last Cape City Council meeting, city attorney Eric Cunningham said the city does have the authority to have the goals removed from city right of way if there are problems.

However, not everyone has faced the same hostility as Foulk.

Greg Ludwig, a mail carrier, said he has not been treated disrespectfully when delivering mail on College Street.

"They're pretty good about getting out of the way," he said. "Sometimes they forget and leave their goals out in the street, though."

Likewise, Herbst said he did not face any conflict when driving through the neighborhoods.

"A lot of them moved for me, I think, because many still recognized me as a police officer," he said.

Herbst is more concerned about safety.

"I realize that in some areas there are no parks in walking distance," he said. "But it's not safe."

Herbst said he sees nothing wrong with having a goal placed on a cul-de-sac, but some goals -- like the one Harris and Smith were using Friday -- clearly could be dangerous. Herbst thinks the city may need to have an ordinance to address this problem, which may mean a ban of all goals on city rights of way.

"You can't put common sense in an ordinance," Herbst said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127