Final Gathering Marks Closure of Tuscaloosa Running Park After Petition Fails

Demonstrators gathered late last month for a final goodbye to Tuscaloosa's Harry Pritchett Running Park, which the University of Alabama closed to the public on April 1st.

The Park, attached to the UA Arboretum, will now be accessible only to collegiate runners and to events such as last weekend's Hospice of West Alabama 5K.

The Arboretum, a tree-filled nature preserve lined with walking trails, a small outdoor amphitheater, and information about the surrounding flora, will remain open for public enjoyment.

A petition to allow the public continued access to the decades-old running park has drawn 1,500 signatures since UA announced the move in March. Still, school administrators were not swayed, and the March 29th gathering there is likely the last of its kind.

Lovers of the running park told stories and gave statements about it, including Harry Pritchett, III, whose grandfather is the namesake of the northeast Tuscaloosa property.

"This park bears the name of Harry H. Pritchett, Sr.-- a man who believed deeply in community, in shared spaces, and in the simple but powerful idea that places of beauty should belong to everyone," Pritchett said in his statement. "For years, this running park has been exactly that: a place where people from all walks of life can come to walk, run, reflect, and reconnect–with nature and with one another. Its lakes, its open fields, and its quiet paths offer something rare and meaningful, especially so close to the heart of our city. To limit public access now would not only change how this space is used–it would change what it represents."

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After the demonstration, a University of Alabama spokesperson declined to respond to the petition or the late-March event.

"Our family firmly believes that this Park should remain open and accessible to the public in the same spirit in which it has been enjoyed for years, continuing to reflect the values my grandfather lived by. He was a steward of this community, and he would have wanted this place to continue serving all members of our community, freely and openly," Pritchett wrote. "This Park has more than land. It is a shared refuge. A gathering place. A reminder that nature and community are strongest when they are inclusive. We respectfully urge the University to preserve that legacy and keep this Park open to the public."

University of Alabama alumni and others also gave statements, which were then provided to the Tuscaloosa Thread by a group trying to keep Pritchett Park open.

"There's a thousand reasons I love to come here," said alumnus Billy Field. "it's a place where I can walk to stay healthy, carry my grandchildren on my back, watch my grandson skip rocks on the pond, learning that flat rocks skip a lot better than round ones, walk my dog, or just sit on a log and think about life."

Others agreed, referencing dozens of comments on the petition through which people shared their experiences at the Park.

"The memories people have shared on the petition and the stories have been telling since UA's announcement highlight, in stark relief, just how unique and special this place is in the lives of so many people—members of UA's family, both chosen through selection as students, faculty, and employees, and because of the symbiotic relationship between Tuscaloosa, the University, and surrounding communities," said Claire Lewis Evans, UA alum and community member. "And I'm not sure the university fully realizes this."

"Pritchett Park is a wonderful green space preserving the opportunity to commune with nature in the midst of an ever-expanding urbanization," said Darrell Westfaul, UA donor, alumnus, and former UA faculty and staff. "For it to become the exclusive domain of the Athletic Department is a waste of its size and resources, and I see no reason why it could not serve the community as well, even if in a limited way. I hope the University will relent and continue to share it with townspeople."

Despite the outpouring of support in its last days open to the public, the Harry Pritchett Running Park closed to the public on April 1st.

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