Bend’s park district has taken its share of criticism over the years. Until the creation of Compass Park, however, we can’t remember anyone faulting the district for providing too much fun. Oh, well. Stick around long enough, and you’ll hear everything.

Compass Park, in the heart of the NorthWest Crossing neighborhood, is a 5-acre patch of landscaping enclosed by a very large roundabout. Upon opening, it quickly became known by local kids for its collection of spinning playground equipment. Unfortunately, the park’s fame spread to local high schoolers, who took to visiting after hours and recreating noisily.

This noise bugs the parks neighbors, who’ve been calling the police and complaining to the park district for months. This spring, the district pulled out about half of the spinning rides, hoping the nocturnal recreation would stop. It hasn’t. The neighbors now want to purge the park of the rest of the stuff, replacing it with something less fun.

We have little doubt the park district will do just what the neighbors want. They did take out half the equipment already, after all.

But then what? What about the younger kids who like to use the spinning equipment? Too bad for them, at least in the short run.

In the long run, the park district should make it up to the younger kids who enjoy the equipment and who’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. One option is to watch what happens at Compass Park once all of the spinning toys have been removed. If the teenagers keep showing up late at night, and if the neighbors keep calling the police, then it stands to reason that the spinning toys never were the problem. In that case, the park district ought to put the stuff back — all of it.

Assuming the teens abandon Compass Park the moment the final spinning toy is removed, the park district should install the equipment in a convenient, highly visible location free of neighbors. How about in 14-acre Riverbend Park, right next to the district’s new administrative building? Much of the park will consist of large grassy areas between Columbia Street and the Deschutes River, so there’s plenty of room for a small playground. The site’s exposure and central location will make it relatively easy to police.

The worst thing the district could do is remove all of the equipment and either throw it out or install it in an inconvenient location.