CARY, N.C. — Most children love to play in the park, but some parents in

Cary

no longer have that choice. The minipark they liked to go to has disappeared.

For 20 years, people who live in the Scottish Hills subdivision in Cary have enjoyed a minipark near their greenway. Residents claim the city removed the minipark with no explanation or warning.

Peter Ellis remembers his son learning to swing at the minipark. But now, a sandpit is the only reminder.

"I would say a whole lot of people used this park from little children to teenagers," Ellis said. "My wife, Peggy, and I used to like sitting on the park bench. That's all gone now, too. Everything is gone."

"I don't understand why they would give us some information and ask for our input about down the street and just take this away without any warning at all," resident Lillie Delott said.

Cary's Parks and Recreation Director Mary Berry admits the town should have notified the neighborhood about the change, but she said Cary is upgrading the Annie Jones Park, a larger facility which is within walking distance of the little park.

"We're not building miniparks anymore mainly because of the cost of operating and maintaining those facilities. We really feel like we get a lot more public use out of the larger parks," Berry said.

Scottish Hills residents have a petition signed by 150 people who want the park restored. However, that does not seem likely. Town officials said their primary focus in that particular area is to renovate the Annie Jones Park. The $100,000 project is scheduled to begin this summer.