I live in NJ, which consists, at least in my area, of a series of municipalities one next to the other. Generally there is some identifying sign on the major roads as you leave one and go into the other, but otherwise they are pretty much indistinguishable. My question is about public facilities such as playgrounds and libraries. Are these understood to be intended for local use only, and that while they won’t (and possibly can’t) throw you out if you use one that is not in your township, you are being a greedy and selfish person who should go back to his own town? Or is it perfectly fine to show up in the neighboring town that happens to have a nice facility and park yourself?
There are several aspects to the question. One issue that comes up is with regards to playgrounds. These are generally paid for by the local township, so by using the facility you are taking advantage of someone else’s tax money (sometimes there appears to be donated funds - these too would presumably be from local people). Another issue would be the various branches of the library - these are paid for by the County, so the funding issue is not as important, but here too one might think that the County is providing this particular local branch for the use of the local citizenry, not for people who show up from other towns.
(I think the issue is very contentious with regards to beaches - there has been a lot of legal wrangling over the attempt of various shore towns to limit the use by non-residents. But I think is different there because the beaches are a natural resource, and might be thought of as belonging to a larger area than the immediate surrounding community. It would differ from a facility which was built by or at least for the locals).
Two parts to the question: right/wrong and public opinion. IOW what is the morally correct position, and beyond that, what do most people think when they see someone from another area using their facilities?
Well, just as a note, around here all the libraries are joined into a consortium. Your library card works in most of the surrounding towns. So…no big deal.
Also, around here, a lot of the nicer parks/wilderness areas are either State parks or belong to privately owned groups (Audobon Society/Trustees of the Reservation, etc.). So if you use those lands, you can contribute to the groups if your conscience bothers you.
As for access to most public places, games theory comes into play. If demand for the resource stays modest, there’s no problem. If the demand is high (e.g. beach/boat launch), then too many people lowers the quality. The town has to resort to some means to limit the number; either by forbidding access or charging non-residents. So to answer your question, if you’re going to use a resource, keep a low profile. Don’t litter, car pool if possible, and (like certain message boards) don’t be a jerk.
I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with using facilities in a different town - as long as you’re not one of the people restricting your town’s facilites.
Let me explain- I live in NYC. For a variety of reasons ranging from value in attracting visitors, to convenience, to for all I know a state law, most ([if not all) of our facilities are open to non-residents. Non-residents can use our parks and beaches.Tto have a free Queens library card you need to either live, work own property or go to school in NY state, not city.None of which would bother me at all except that the surrounding counties have resident-only policies.
As Finagle mentioned, if these resources become overused by non-residents, the residents will create some barriers to entry, so I’m not real concerned about it.
If I were in a public park near my home I would have no way of knowing whether any other parkgoers were locals and I sure wouldn’t think about it.
The point of who pays and who benefits is an interesting one, but I’m afraid the nature of taxation is one paying with another benefiting. I am childless yet pay property taxes which fund local education. I believe that “free” public education is good, whether or not I have children. Perhaps the same could be said for “free” public recreation.
When I lived in Oakville, I had a library card from the neighbouring city of Mississauga. I had to pay a non-resident fee to get the card; it was only CAD 20 per year, no big deal. And I paid standard price for using the buses.
OTOH, I never paid for all the sidewalk-wear I contributed… :eek: