June 16, 2024: In the evening the homeless camp on the Rail Trail north of Gordon Pike smelled as if it was burning trash. The smoke was heavy in the area and smelled like burning trash. The City should not be allowing the homeless to openly burn trash on property that is owned by the City along the Rail Trail. This needs to be shut down immediately as it is hazardous to the health of everyone in the are.
The homeless camp along the Rail Trail north of Gordon Pike is burning trash on the evening of June 18, 2024, after 10pm. The smell is very strong in the surrounding area. The City needs to put a stop to this activity immediately as it is occurring illegally on City owned property. The city is allowing the homeless to openly burn on City property, which is ridiculous.
I live off of Thornton Dr and walk the B-Link trail to Switchyard Park daily. I have been observing a Cooper's hawk and two chicks in a nest for several weeks now, and was dismayed to see the city doing tree work over the last few days. They seem to have missed the tree with the hawks in it, but I would like to know 1) what environmental assessments were undertaken prior to conducting the tree work and 2) why the decision was made to remove branches now, during the nesting season, rather than in the fall or winter when most birds are not actively nesting. The disturbance from neighboring trees and noise could have been enough to make the birds abandon the nest out of fear for their safety, and they have lost significant protection from neighboring trees.
This was reported as a fire hazard, and also being reported as a trails issue to keep the parks dept updated on the activity along the Rail Trail. Large fire at 10:10pm on June 19, 2024, in the woods along the Rail Trail. The homeless camp on City-owned property (according to the GIS) is burning a large, open fire this evening. This is on the Rail Trail north of Gordon Pike maybe 0.3 to 0.4 miles, east and south of the Terrace Drive area. This is a significant hazard to the City property and neighboring private property. The fires need to stop and the camps need to be cleared out immediately before the homeless burn acres of woods, fences, sheds, houses, trailers -- anything in the vicinity could go up in flames soon.
A tent city has developed on the B-Line Trail, south of W Country Club Dr and north of W Gordon Pike. They are cutting down foliage for more tents and dogs are running loose.
Hello -- where the parking lot and sidewalk end and the Rail Trail begins (at the trailhead on Country Club Drive), there is a growing issue. The height difference between the trail and the sidewalk is becoming a real trip hazard for pedestrians, an accessibility issue for others, and a flat tire waiting to happen for cyclists. Is there a way to get this fixed up a bit? But please, please, do NOT use giant gravel. The parts of the Rail Trail that were patched with giant gravel are a disaster. Leave the bump instead of using big gravel if that is the only set of options.
This is why we can't have nice things . . . Why is this big gravel on the Rail Trail? The nice, even, soft surface of the trail has something like 3 or 4 sections where this big gravel was tossed on the trail and now it is a real issue. The big gravel is unstable for runners and walkers. The big gravel hurts the pads of dogs. And, the big gravel is a disaster to ride a bicycle across on a commute into downtown. This needs to be repaired with the big gravel gone and smaller gravel to match the existing trail surface used. You wouldn't patch a section of the B-Line with wood planks, so why mess up the rail trail like this?
This photo was taken to exaggerate the issue just a bit by the perspective, but this is an issue. The parking lot on Country Club at the B-Line Trail is getting gnarly with bushes. Is it possible to trip this back?
Good morning, last evening I went for a walk in Olcott Park and admired the several "prairie" gardens along the walk-ways with mowed paths among them. Today I'm writing to ask this email be forwarded to the landscaper who grew and maintains those gardens. I want to add a smaller version to my own yard and have some questions about who to proceed and wonder whether they might share their knowledge on the topic. Or perhaps they can point me to resources. Thank you.
Washout worse then it looks from photo