Play Nice

Maria Doncaster was taking advantage of the nice weather on a recent Saturday, shooting hoops at a Henderson park when a man told her she had to leave.

The reason? Not her poor shooting; he and his friends wanted to use the whole court to play a game.

"Those are the rules," he told her.

Confused, she played for another 15 minutes, then left. She thought she was entitled to play, because it is a public park, but still wondered if there was some unwritten rule she didn't know. Turns out, yes, there is, local parks department representatives say. The rule? Share but don't run people off. But that's not all.

Call it the etiquette of using public parks.

It's those rules that govern decent human behavior and the way we should behave when we're playing soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis or just walking our dogs in the park.

The posted rules are obvious: No alcoholic beverages; clean up your mess; keep your dogs on a leash and pick up their waste. The etiquette is a little trickier but it's no different from what mothers have been telling their children for generations: Share, play fair and be nice, says Nancy O'Connor, manager of parks for North Las Vegas.

"You have to realize you're sharing the park on some days with 3,000 other people. It's not my park, it's not your park. It's our park," O'Connor says.

Amenities such as basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts and green areas are mostly first come, first served, park representatives say. There will be times when a park amenity is at full capacity, leaving people waiting for their turn. That's when the etiquette needs to kick in.

"We hope that park users use common courtesy," says Kelly Schwarz, spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services. "We hope that people are being neighborly, not kicking people off. Let's all get along."

When you're visiting a public park, you should treat people as you want them to treat you, O'Connor says.

Paseo Vista Park in Henderson was a well-kept secret until recently, says Nancy Salazar, a frequent visitor to the park. A Henderson city employee, she practices throwing horseshoes with her Corporate Challenge teammates.

Now that the weather is nice, the park gets busy, she says, which means people may have to share.

"If all the pits are taken and someone comes out here wanting to throw, we'll just double up," she says.

Rules, written and unwritten, are enforceable by park officials but with 63 parks in North Las Vegas, more than 50 in Henderson and about 68 in Clark County, they rely on the public to police themselves when it comes to sharing.

Clark County recently relaunched its park ambassador program, says Leslie Mihalko, spokeswoman for the county's parks department. There are 18 park police to split between two shifts, so park officials now enlist community members to be the eyes and ears for them, she explains. The ambassadors walk around, talk to people, help with small issues and remind people to pick up trash. Currently, ambassadors are at Desert Breeze Park and will soon be at Sunset Park.

"We hope that people observe the etiquette that the kids do at the skate park," Mihalko says. "They wait for the next person to do their thing and then when they're clear, they go. It's like skiing. It's common courtesy to let people come in and participate."

Sometimes, people resort to "fisticuffs" over who was there first, Mihalko says, adding that 99 percent of parkgoers are kind and courteous.

It's a good idea to implement a time limit if people are waiting on some amenities, says Henderson parks director Mary Ellen Donner.

"I'm thinking of treadmills in gyms where signs say if there are people waiting please limit your time to 30 minutes," Donner says. "That's what should occur" at public parks.

Incidents occur but they are rare, parks representatives say. But educating the public about park usage is an ongoing effort, O'Connor notes.

"Everyone's in a park or facility to enjoy themselves. Just be cognizant that your enjoyment doesn't infringe on someone else's enjoyment," Donner says.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4564.