After residents ignored posted signs, barriers were erected. But the runners who use La Jolla High’s track didn’t let that stop their nightly routine.
The shorter and easier to run inside lanes were prohibited because lazy residents used them more than others, wearing the track out prematurely, said La Jolla High School Principal Dana Shelburne. So, Shelburne finally resorted to training cameras nightly onto the banned lanes. He found that nothing worked.
Finally, after playing teenage games with the adults of the neighborhood, Shelburne decided to close the track for good.
Shelburne has called a community meeting to discuss what he calls “an attitude of entitlement” from area residents who continue to demolish the school’s newly resurfaced track.
The meeting, scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 1, 3:30 p.m. in the high school’s auditorium, will give members of the community a chance to speak to Shelburne about the track’s closure, which began about three weeks ago.
“We spent $90,000 to resurface the track,” Shelburne said. “It took three or four days to complete everything, including the lane lines and numbering. “And we have signs that are completely ignored by the community. They bring their dogs, their strollers, and they even bring their children to the track to teach them to ride a bicycle. It ruins the track.”
School officials realized that the inside lanes, being a few yards shorter, received the most wear and tear. First, they posted signs, asking runners to stick to the outside lanes. When that didn’t work, officials installed temporary barricades, which also failed. Sometime during the evening, the barricades were being moved, freeing the inside lanes. Shelburne used existing cameras, which he turned toward the lanes with the hope that he could catch the violators.
What Shelburne and the coaches learned when they viewed the cameras was shocking, he said.
“It was just a stunning thing,” Shelburne said. “It didn’t take long, usually not more than five minutes, before someone would move the barricades.”
But, Shelburne admits, not all the community is engaged in razing the newly resurfaced track.
Many runners in the area obey the rules.
Professor Igor Grant of the University of California, San Diego is one of those runners. He used the high school track regularly every Sunday until he arrived one morning to find it chained.
“I am concerned that this rather drastic step was taken without attempting to engage the public in a systematic manner, such as, for example, calling a public meeting to discuss the problem,” Grant said.
On several occasions, Shelburne said he approached runners using the track during sporting events but was met with resistance and hostility. On other occasions, the principal brought to the attention the fact that the runners were breaking the rules.
“I would go out there and say, ‘Excuse me, I’m the high school principal,'” Shelburne said. “They’d be walking their dog underneath a sign that says ‘no dogs.'”
In addition to the public ignoring signs, personal trainers brought groups of up to 40 people to use the track, Shelburne said.
Many believe that because the high school is public, the track is also public property.
“La Jolla High School is a public resource which should not be denied to public use except if there is really no other choice,” Grant said.
“Some want to get into an argument and say it’s a public place,” Shelburne said. “But by code law I can say it’s closed.”
During the community meeting, Shelburne said he hopes to clear the air and brainstorm a solution. People have come up with ideas that don’t seem feasible, such as to “hire a kid to stand out there on weekends,” Shelburne said.
“I am a big believer in trying to make our facilities open to the community,” Shelburne said. “However, we get some people who abuse the privilege.”
La Jolla High School is located at 750 Nautilus St. For information, call (858) 454-3081.