Switchyard splash pad not working at 6pm on Wednesday, July 6th. It is dangerously hot and people are gathered here to cool down, many of them families with kids and people at risk. Today of all days the splash pad should be working.
While weed wrangling today (Asian Bittersweet/Japanese Stiltgrass/Multi-Flora Rose), we found this Beech Tree down on one of the paths in Winslow Woods. It is on the left fork of the path closest to the community garden. We removed enough of the limbs and brush from the fallen tree for visitors to use the path. We do not know city protocol for mitigation/removal of fallen trees in greenspaces, so we left the balance of the removal for the city. Thank you.
I was looking at a map of Cascades (Lower) today, as I am attending a gathering at Sycamore tomorrow. I also saw, to my extreme dismay, that the south entrance to the lower park is all pedestrian and bicycle! I am supposed to be attending a reserved gathering in Waterfall Shelter in week and a half. My right side is about 80% paralyzed. I can neither walk that far nor use a wheelchair to get there. I HOPE that this doing-away with the road is not permanent. This city is increasingly putting lots of money behind bike trails while doing darned near NOTHING for the physically disabled. I remind you that we too are taxpayers, as I have been here for nearly 50 years. I should be able to attend my paying group's function at Waterfall, as I have in years past.
Is the pool basketball hoop as Bryan Park pool coming back soon? It was a great way for older kids to enjoy playing in the pool together. They definitely miss it now that it is gone.
Is there, by chance, a lost and found for the Lower Cascades waterfall area? We may have misplaced a bag there. Thank you!
Seminary park and surrounding area is progressively getting more abandoned personal possessions and trash/litter. The answer that I get every time is that the parks department monitors the area but can’t do anything in between the times it comes by the area. However I feel like some city workers are not addressing these issues due to fear and other known issues in the area. (Plus political reasons) More needs done and people using this area creating these problems need held accountable.
Poop all over the mulch under the playground, in a couple different spots. Don't know if it's dog or human poop (there is a wipe as well), but highly disgusting and unsafe.
Homeless people are again living in People’s Park. They’re using drugs, fighting, leaving trash everywhere, screaming and yelling, urinating and defecating and have taken over most of the benches and tables. It also appears that they are sleeping there overnight. We bought ice cream across the street and expected to have a nice Sunday afternoon in the park for thirty minutes or so… we tried sitting on the steps of a business on the opposite side of Dunn Street but the shrubbery nearby was probably soaked in urine based on the stench. We simply left at that point….. No other Indiana city of the same size and population has a homeless population of 1 % of that of Bloomington and that is directly attributable to the fact that Bloomington attracts these people by virtue of feeding them and enabling them unlike anywhere else in Indiana. I’ve lived in and near Bloomington since 1974 and this has simply gotten totally out of hand.
The lights in Peoples Park along the eastern edge of the park and on the 507 E. Kirkwood Avenue building are not operating, creating a haven at night for an overnight encampment of people, various belongings, litter, etc. The lights shine into the Park to create more visibility/safety for pedestrians/visitors.
This is supposed to be a city park built for parents to take their children to be kids and have fun. I took my niece to the park the other day and found pills in one of the tunnels, needles in the bathroom and on the play area, powder on the ground in the water area (which the drugged up homeless said their buddy spilt his meth there). Then I found out that they are allowed to camp there. There are plenty of places for them to sleep and leave their remnants that isn’t in the path of innocent children. You’ve been mayor since 2016 and you know the homeless has become a bigger problem every year. We can’t go to a park in Bloomington without someone drugged up and laying across the tables, walking around cussing and threatening anyone walking by. Homeless at every stoplight claiming to be veterans. The parks are the worse and I will make sure that everyone hears what is going on at the parks and our Mayor is allowing this to go on. My comments involve the parks, restroom, picnic areas, playgrounds and water areas.