Petition to ‘Save Our Parks’ Tops 2,000 Signatures

After hearing the news that St. Louis County might close some parks in order to cut the budget, Fenton resident Kristen Weber created an online petition to "Save Our Parks." More than 2,000 individials have signed the online document as of Tuesday evening.

The petition is addressed to St. Louis County Councilman Charlie Dooley, and reads:

Stop closing our St. Louis parks with your budget cuts.
Our parks are essential to the St. Louis community. Our wildlife and preserved parks create memories for St. Louis families. It is time to take a stand and stop our government from taking away our right to enjoy Missouri outdoor experiences.

Weber said she was inspired by the woman whose Change.org petition led Bank of America to cancel its plan to charge debit card users a $5 monthly fee, so she logged on and started a petition of her own.

A petition was the best way to gauge community interest, Weber said. She knew she wanted to take action to protect county parks, but she didn’t know if anyone else cared the way she did.

She hoped to see a few hundred signatures over a few weeks, naming 2,000 as an eventual goal. After a week, she’s already past the 2,000 mark.

Her new goal is 5,000 signatures.

A group of Maryland Heights residents have also launched a petition drive, which as of Tuesday evening had just under 2,000 signatures.