Why Vehicle Access is an Issue at Rosecrest Park

Missoula County park rules prohibit public motorized use in all Missoula County parks. Limited motorized use is allowed in situations where a park has, for example, a parking lot or where park maintenance staff or other County-authorized individuals need access for specific, approved purposes.

Unauthorized vehicle access and encroachments have been an issue at Rosecrest Park due in part to the nature of the original Roseland Addition subdivision, which is built on a sloped bench, making it easier to access some backyards through the parkland. There are no subdivision park files or any official records that envision or approve motorized use at Rosecrest Park.

• Vehicles primarily access the park on the eastern edge off 37^th Avenue. At this location, a two-tire track is well worn into the landscape [see the photo “Street View from 37th Ave”]. Landowners also have a pattern of irrigating and mowing the park as extensions of their backyards. Landowners living next to the park use it on a routine or seasonal basis for a number of reasons.
  
  
• Vehicles do not access the western edge of the park off Clements Avenue. At this location, the park meets the classification of a greenway/open space park for pedestrian use [see the photo “Street View from Clements Ave”].