Status quo McEuen foe

At 10:53 a.m. Thursday, a breezy, sweet summer morning if ever there was one, a total of three people were enjoying McEuen Field.

Maybe the sparsity of human activity represented the low-water mark for that day. Maybe it didn't. But it certainly illustrated one significant point: In a location with as much aesthetic potential as any in North Idaho, McEuen Field is at times abandoned, as appreciated as a back alley pockmarked by garbage cans and stray cats.

We understand and appreciate that some people want it left just the way it is. For a moment, though, look through the lens of what is, then leave open the door to what could be.

Here's what McEuen is: It is a massive park with a one-mile circumference that nobody can walk around. It offers a pathetic little playground, perhaps the worst in all of Coeur d'Alene, and ballfield fences that look like hideous stitches on a beautiful face. It abuts an ugly parking lot with a boat launch that primarily serves Spokane daytime visitors who contribute little to the local economy but much to the ongoing safety hazard where park, parking lot, launch and marina converge. If you don't believe that, spend any Saturday late afternoon or evening at the launch, when boaters have had their fill of warm sunshine and cold beer. Your perspective will change in a hurry.

We're in no position to say what could or should be there, but we know who is. The city has selected Team McEuen, Miller Stauffer Architects and an ad-hoc committee of 21 citizens to forge a vision for this unique property encompassing McEuen Field, the Third Street Marina and Front Avenue.

We have a growing sense that our community stands at the threshold of an opportunity that may never present itself again. We applaud city leadership for charting a responsible, inspirational path for exploring possibilities and putting the right people in place to help create a vision for the public to consider.

Let those people do their thing, with encouragement every step of the way. Leverage the city's urban renewal resources, which were created for just such an opportunity as this.

Now is no time to run away from the threat of change and cling desperately to the status quo. Now is the time to dream big dreams.