On Thursday, January 26th, Military Families were given notice that basketball hoops were no longer permitted at Catalina Heights. Lincoln Military Housing (LMH) cited the Community Policies, section 42 under Children’s safety.

“Resident is responsible for the safety, care and actions of Resident’s own children and children in Resident’s care. Please instruct children not to play in the streets, alleys or parking lots. The driveway(where applicable) area is reserved for automobiles. If you have a basketball hoop, it is permitted in your driveway area only. Basketball hoops are not permitted on streets, cul-de-sacs or sidewalk areas” 

For many military families residing at Catalina Heights, the basketball hoops within our neighborhood have been a staple to many families and our children. Although LMH does provide multiple parks for our younger children, there currently is not a community basketball court or similar amenity on the premises for our teens. The closest city basketball courts are one mile away, our children would have to cross several busy intersections and streets. This poses a greater safety concern for our military children. 

Removing basketball hoops within our community is an issue of great concern. Not only do the basketball hoops provide a healthy outlet for our children, they also provide life and social skills along with building friendships within our community. Our children are resilient, but also face the hardships of moving every few years and having to start over. For many families, our basketball hoops provide an emotional outlet and a sense of stability that isn’t always present within the military family dynamic. 

LMH citing safety concerns of basketball hoops in our community is arbitrary, as it negates the root cause of the issue. Restricting our children from playing within the confines of our community and home is not the solution. To ensure the safety of children within our community, there are other avenues such as creating speed bumps in the alleys/driveways, posted speed limits and road safety mirrors going into the alleys. These changes would be more productive and pertinent to addressing the issue at hand. 

Military families living at Catalina Heights should be authorized to keep personal basketball hoops until LMH can provide an alternative community basketball court for our children along with addressing the safety changes in the alleys and driveways.