Dear Editor: This is an open letter to Kevin Sluka regarding the renovation of Van Vorst Park and Gwen Shook’s letter (Good things are definitely worth waiting for…and I’m still waiting) of April 30 on the subject. Mr. Sluka, I hope you read Gwen Shook’s letter. Many of us feel very strongly about the questions she raises. Let me add the following. The major issue is the safety of our children. The fence surrounding the playground structure needs gates. Last week my three-year old ran out of the park and, although I was chasing her, she would have reached the street had another adult not grabbed her. This kind of thing happens all the time. The playground area is dangerously close to the street and your “improvements” have made it even easier for toddlers to escape. The opening in the fence is wider and the steps that used to be there are gone, so there is no longer any structural barriers to slow down a running child. We are not kidding — a tragedy is going to happen here if you don’t do something. Long before the park renovation was completed, the issue of gates was brought to the attention of those in authority. I asked you about it at a Van Vorst neighborhood meeting. Several of us called the mayor’s office. I spoke with Councilman Vega’s office more than once. Here are the responses we got: “gates were never discussed,” “Oh, yes, the whole area will have gates,” and my personal favorite, “we can’t put gates up because the playground has to be handicapped accessible.” Here is what Van Vorst Park offers our neighborhood children — four swings (actually two per age group), a play structure that is both inadequate (for the number of children who use it every day) and unsafe (especially for children who are three and under) and a small stretch of lawn where they can play ball. That’s it and I say it’s not good enough. Clearly the children were considered a far less important demographic than whoever it is who appreciates sitting on a bench looking at a faux Victorian fountain. But the least you can do is to work with us on the safety issue. Please, please hear our plea. Give us gates around the playground. Lane Binkley