But lately many residents are complaining that the park, located at 1320 Willow St., is the victim of society's bad habits.

On weekends the 18-acre park draws many people from outside the neighborhood who play loud music, dump garbage and drink alcohol.

"They simply don't respect the neighbors and the neighborhood," said Rick Curry, whose house on Britton Avenue is next to the park.

Many residents share Curry's resentment.

Willow Glen Neighborhood Association board member Harold Schapelhouman stopped taking his 3-year-old daughter, Meaghan, to the park when he noticed that some homeless people had made the park their home.

"I don't feel like taking my daughter to a park where tramps hang around," said the Britton Avenue resident. "The sentiment in my neighborhood is that we can't even frequent our local park because of the number of people who inundate and frequently trash it on weekends. We have reached a boiling point."

Park officials and police officers say they have been unaware of the problems but have promised they will assist neighbors in taking back their neighborhood park.

Steve Romer, park manager for the city's Park, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, said more warning signs will be posted at the entrance to remind visitors that it is illegal to drink on the premises.

"The signs are there to educate the public and to provide tools for the police to enforce park rules," Romer said.

The San Jose Police Department said it will take a more aggressive approach to deal with drinking violations.

"For those who don't know it is against the law to drink or possess alcohol in the park, we will give them verbal warnings," said Sgt. Alfred Ferla, whose patrol team covers Willow Glen. "For those who disregard the warnings, we will cite them."

Ferla said police will also increase patrols of the park, including foot patrols.

Romer said he is unaware that homeless people are camping at the park, but he also stressed that it is not a crime for the homeless to use the park during the day.

Romer added that maintenance staff clean the park seven days a week.

Although neighbors had been concerned with the problems, no action was taken until a message on the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association's electronic bulletin board system said that a stabbing occurred in the park on Aug. 17. The posting pushed concerned neighbors to call for a meeting with the police department on Aug. 21.

Ferla and Lt. Eric Edwards attended the meeting, informing the group of 30 residents that no stabbing had occurred at the park and that the incident had been a fight between two family members over money. No one had been arrested.

San Jose Police Department spokesman Joseph Deras added that the police patrol cars that gathered at the park on Aug. 17 were actually evacuating residents and business owners from a sewer explosion that happened around 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of Willow Street and Meridian Avenue.

The San Jose Police Department confirmed the information.

"We found there was hydrocarbon in the sewer system," said San Jose Fire Department spokesman Greg Spence. "It blew the utility cover, which weighed about 75 to 100 pounds, up in the air and ignited flame and smoke."

Approximately 55 firefighters were at the scene. Police helped evacuate employees of eight businesses on Willow Street and residents of single-family homes on Meridian Avenue to Bramhall Park. According to Spence, nobody was hurt.

The fire department is still investigating the cause of the explosion.

Although their doubts were cleared, the neighbors took advantage of the meeting to express their concerns to the police officers.

San Jose District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager will hold a meeting on the evening of Sept. 19 with neighbors, park officials and police officers to discuss ways to improve the park. The meeting's location has yet to be announced.