Baerveldt Park

Baerveldt Park

Baerveldt Park is a small park located at 1398 Ferguson Avenue in the City of Pagedale, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb in near north St. Louis County whose problems I have already described in a previous post.

Today, I noticed this huge sign at the main entrance to Baerveldt Park:

NO
VEHICLES
BICYCLES
PETS

Sheesh - talk about unwelcoming! I'm used to seeing signs in public parks stating "Animals must be on leashes" or things like that. But no pets at all? And no bicycles too?

I guess they're just trying to keep the place looking nice for folks who come by car, with no dogs in tow. After all, it's about a two-block walk from this park to the nearest residences, on Ferguson to the north near St. Charles Rock Road; or to the south across the railroad tracks.

I'm sure this is not the only park in the region with such signage; I think I may have even seen a "No Bicycles" sign near the Piper Palm House in Tower Grove Park. Nevertheless, it does suggest a rather unwelcoming attitude on the part of whoever manages these parks (in the case of Baerveldt, the City of Pagedale itself).

I also figured out, after that last post on the topic of Pagedale, that the "large church" on Page at Ferguson is the former St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church, closed in 2001 and now occupied by a Baptist church.