BEAVER (KDKA) — It won’t be long before the rain of today gives way to the snow of tomorrow and that means sledding.

But in Beaver Borough, residents just got a newsletter, alerting them to restrictions on sledding in two popular parks.

“Some are completely prohibited and some are restricted,” Whitney Brady, borough manager, told KDKA’s Jon Delano. “There are safety measures attached to these restrictions to insure the safety of the community.”

Brady says after an accident in Wayne Square Park, borough council decided to ban sled riding in that park.

Brady: “If the sled riders were to lose control or were unable to get off their sled, they could potentially go over the hill into the woods.”

Delano: “And get injured?”

Brady: “And get injured, fatally injured.”

Sledding is permitted in Roosevelt Park although children under 12 must wear helmets, but the ordinance limits sledding to only Beaver Borough residents.

It’s one thing for Beaver Borough to set rules and regulations on how to sled ride in this particular park, but it’s quite another for the borough to say to neighboring residents in Vanport, Bridgewater, or Brighton — or anywhere else for that matter – are not allowed to sled ride here.

The ban on friends and relatives from other communities and non-residents using Roosevelt Park, says Brady, was recommended by the borough’s insurance company.

“We are keeping the taxpayers dollars in the community by asking that only taxpayers sled ride in the community.”

Of course, enforcing that ban on non-residents is hard.

The police have better things to do than making every kid who sleds in the park prove they live in Beaver Borough.

Last year, no citations were issued at all.

At the borough’s suggestion, KDKA-TV tried to reach their insurance company about the non-resident ban, but the company would not return calls.

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