To the Editor:

We are lucky to have an amazing community resource in the WPCRC on the Northside. But more than once or even twice, I’ve been struck by the difficulty in accessing the center as a community member.

Most recently we visited WPCRC on Sunday, December 30, after consulting their published holiday schedule. Open 11–6. We made plans to meet up with a few families so parents could chat and kids could play. 

Upon arrival, at 12:10, we were informed that the game room would be closing at 12:30, as this is their recently adopted policy for weekends when events are scheduled (in this case volleyball).

Apart from the misleading holiday hours, which were published making no mention of the new game room policy, we observed two additional groups enter the facility and promptly leave over the course of two hours during this holiday break Sunday. 

It was almost 2 pm when we left, and the entire time we were there, neither our group or any other group was allowed to use the vacant game room, despite the fact that there were no other groups present and very few people in the building in general. 

As I mentioned, this isn’t the first time we have come up against issues of accessibility at WPCRC. The center is an incredible resource, and while we are thankful for it (and have recently rented the facilities for a birthday party), the facility appears more geared toward paying groups than being accessible to community members and neighbors. As a much needed community resource, this approach needs to change.

Liz Windsor-Engnell