NEWS

Muncie: Sled at your own risk

Keith Roysdon
kroysdon@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE – City officials are not following the lead of some communities and banning snow sledding in Muncie parks, but they are taking steps to minimize injuries — and the city's liability.

They city's parks department recently placed bales of straw around trees at the bottom of Soap Box Derby hill in McCulloch Park and will erect "sled at your own risk" signs.

"I want people to be able to continue sledding but I want to cut down on risk," parks superintendent Harvey Wright told The Star Press on Wednesday.

Wright briefed the city's Board of Works and Public Safety about his plan to erect signs. City street superintendent Duke Campbell said the signs might be ready for installation as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Muncie's action comes as communities around the country grapple with injuries and legal liability related to the traditional wintertime activity of sledding.

The city of Dubuque, Iowa, made national headlines earlier this month after it banned snow sledding in most of the city's 50 parks. Officials there said the ban was intended to protect the city from lawsuits.

In one widely-reported case, the city of Boone, Iowa in 2011 paid $12 million to a sledder who hit a concrete cube at the bottom of a sledding hill.

Nearly 21,000 people younger than 19 are treated for injuries related to sledding each year, the Chicago Tribune reported last week.

There's little snow left in city parks this week because of unseasonably warm temperatures, but Wright noted it's likely the city will see more snow this winter.

Wright said his department placed about a dozen bales of straw around trees near the base of the Soap Box Derby hill after the most recent snowfall but decided to take further steps.

Wright told the works board on Wednesday that the city parks board approved putting up "sled at your own risk" signs during a Tuesday meeting.

"People are getting hurt in other states," Wright said. "We're trying to keep that from happening here."

City attorney John Quirk is president of the board of works and voted in favor of the signage in Wednesday's meeting. He did not address the effectiveness of signs as a mitigator of the city's liability and did not return a message seeking elaboration later Wednesday.

Former city attorney Jason Delk said Wednesday that there was a "theory out there that you're acknowledging the potential for risk if you're taking an action" like placing bales of straw or erecting signs.

"But I'm not sure that's creating a liability for the city," Delk added.

Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Twitter: @keithroysdon