Parking lots at some city parks are closed due to the soft spring ground.

Albert Lea Parks Superintendent Joe Grossman said cars driving on the asphalt lot near the fishing pier at Edgewater Park has caused severe damage, leaving it in worse shape than it was. The road through the park remains closed, as it was in winter.

“Our infrastructure is deteriorating,” he said. “The main road in Edgewater is in poor shape, and that parking lot is in even worse shape.”

The ground is saturated and soft as it thaws. In some places, only a few inches have thawed; while others are completely frost-free.

Grossman pointed out that the parking lot used to be a wetland. It has a thin layer of sealcoat on top. Driving on it pushes on the gravel base, which in turn pushes into mud. The mud forces its way up through the base, ruining the parking lot.

He said park users can expect the lot to be closed.

Barricades already are in place at gravel parking lots for Bancroft Bay Park and Snyder Fields. They are also in place for gravel parking lots at parks that serve the winter ice rinks — Hayek, Academy, Lakeview and Hawthorne — because the excess of melted ice always causes soft parking lots.

Grossman said once the ground thaws, drains and then firms, the lots will reopen.