Outside the homeless shelter at switchyard park off the walking path are hundreds of cigarette butts. This is making the area look very trashy as well as dangerous for wildlife/animals. Please hold people that litter accountable. Please also talk to shelter organizers to provide trash stations for cigarette butts and help educate people responsible for littering.
Could you please fill dirt around the trees in the large dog park? It has been over a year since I've visited the dog park, and the swamplands around the trees is still not fixed. Creating a hill around the tree will allow the dirt to compact into flat land for future grass growth. Thank you.
Physical safety issues on playground at Switchyard Park. There are large sharp-edged rocks next to the two concrete slides separated by slippery artificial grass. I watched as small children tried to climb these rocks with no railings to hold on to, or as they tried to go up the grassy area next to the rocks and slides. This is a disaster waiting to happen! I was alarmed that a child was going to fall off the rocks or onto the sharp edges. I saw several children bump their heads on the concrete edge of the slides as they landed hard. Both of these issues need immediate attention. There needs to be a padding strip on the slides at the bottom. The large sharp-edged rocks need to be removed and steps with a railing installed on both sides of the slides.
LARGE DOG PARK: While drainage has been added and temporary fencing put in, one section of fencing (the smaller one) does not encompass all of the water problem. The last time we brought our dog here she ran into the mud puddles (multiple times) and drank the water, which has previously made her sick. We will not go back until we hear it has been fixed completely.
One of the swings is broken
Swing broken at the southeast park playground
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.
The drinking fountain by the playground in Southeast park seems not to drain properly - all the water pours out underneath the bowl.
There are currently no no-smoking signs in the Upper Cascades park. My wife and I were there with our 1 year old daughter last Monday or Tuesday, and were unable to use the swings as two childless adults were smoking on the swing set and declined to move. Can prominent signage be placed to indicate the park/park system is smoke free? I would also update the park rules to be more layman friendly, as they primarily reference federal, state, and city codes (found here https://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=7722). Thank you.
The gate pin and hinge is made so you can't swing through. The pin is almost out and it won't fit back in. Needs repaired.