Are Local Parks Ready for Blue Signpost Season?

Over the next several weeks, I plan to bring Tucker Patch readers a survey of some of the parks within the DeKalb County Parks and Recreation System. I'm developing a website called Blue Signposts, a guide to the places, issues and events that are just off the main highway, literally and figuratively.

The name refers to the informational street signs commonly used to direct travelers to recreation and other amenities. Most of the coverage you will find there will concentrate on north DeKalb County, but I will occasionally broaden the scope beyond the local byways when inspired to do so. For now, however, I invite you to explore with me some of our local parks and recreation facilities.

With summer right around the corner, what can you expect when you visit some of these facilities? Are the parks being neglected, overused, underused, or flat-out ignored? Are the swimming pools ready? What condition are the ball fields in for the season? With those questions in mind, I ventured forth with camera and note pad.

We begin in northeast DeKalb, including Tucker and unincorporated Decatur. First up is , a 17-acre park located in a residential area near Tucker High School. Like several DeKalb parks built a half-century ago, Cofer Park is centered around baseball fields and an outdoor swimming pool. There are two ball fields at Cofer, similar in size. The pool is eleven feet at the deep end and has two diving boards. Up the street a bit from the main park, there is a small playground and a covered picnic area.

I visited Cofer Park the third Tuesday in May, and DeKalb County workers were pressure washing the pool. This made for some interesting photo opportunities. The pool is scheduled to open for the season on Saturday, May 26, so the cleaning came just in time. I don't think I've ever seen a pool being pressure washed before—my thanks to the employees for allowing me to snap a few photos.

Both of the ball fields at Cofer Park were closed for maintenance, according to the signage I saw. The DeKalb Parks website lists them as softball fields, and the Decatur Women's Sports League used to play softball games here, but I'm not sure if any leagues are using them now. They are in decent shape, but the announcer's stand for one field looks like it's about to be swallowed by the brush.

My favorite part of this park is the little lake adjoining it. There are some nice spots to watch the ducks and other waterfowl from, and I saw a couple of people fishing from a bank. I also watched a beautiful heron fishing for lunch in the shallow end. It seemed to ignore me as I observed it from about fifty feet away. Unfortunately, I didn't have my good camera with me at that moment, but I was able to get a few decent photos of this elegant creature.

could use some upgrading, particularly the pool clubhouse, but it's a serviceable park for recreation and relaxation. Next up in my survey of DeKalb parks is the . Look for it here next week.