uReport

City of Bloomington, Indiana

closed: Resolved #132419

Parks & Rec Programs:

Other: Hi, there. Not sure who to send this to, so I'm hoping you can forward it on. First, I recently came across this idea of closing streets (temporarily) to allow kids to play. I think it would be amazing to see something like this in Bloomington. http://www.reading.gov.uk/residents/community-and-living/play-streets/ Secondly, I took my three year old to Touch a Truck this year. What a wonderful event! We had a blast. He has been every year of his life, but this was the first time I was able to go with him. I wanted to give my feedback about the amount of candy at the event. It seems like it was everywhere and several other moms I talked to were really upset about it (especially since a lot of it was hard candy or really chewy stuff that can be a choking hazard for very young children). I think the trucks are the main event and the kids are so excited to see them. Adding candy to the mix just complicates things unnecessarily. Personally, I was really surprised to see the giant colors of fruit drinks (which I assume were donated by Pepsi). It was SO hot outside. I had forgotten our water bottles and really would have loved a drink of cold water. Our kids don't drink fruit drinks, so we just waited until we left and got water bottles elsewhere. But I would hope that Parks & Rec is all about encouraging healthy bodies, right? Maybe Pepsi could bring some water next year. Thanks.

History

6/20/2013 14:09:05 Closed by Anonymous

Judy e-mailed: Thank you for your feedback regarding the recent Touch a Truck event. It’s great that you and your child were able to enjoy the event together. It is a very popular annual event and we are always looking for input from participants. I must admit I was surprised to learn out that there was an abundance of candy passed out by the vehicles in attendance. I hope you and your child got a chance to collect some of the non food related items (balloons, coloring books, crayons, cups, coupons, etc.). As a Department, we are trying to incorporate healthy alternative choices in all of our programs and events. This year, concessions were available for purchase over by the ball field and restroom areas. It did not get as much traffic as we had hoped and have since discussed selling bottled water under a tent near the registration area in 2014. In addition, I anticipate a suggestion list of appropriate “give away” items will be sent to those companies/trucks that participate. I looked at the link you sent for the play streets. It is an interesting concept that I think some of the local neighborhoods could really embrace. Thanks again for your input. Hope you will attend Touch a Truck next year. Becky Barrick-Higgins Community Events Manager

6/19/2013 16:10:05 Anonymous followed up on this ticket

Judy forwarded to Becky Barrick for response

6/19/2013 12:22:30 Anonymous assigned this case to Anonymous

6/19/2013 12:22:30 Opened by Anonymous