Case Date:

8/18/2024

How does Bloomington determine the appropriate lifeguard-patron ratio for the city's public pools? How often is a responsible staff member actively evaluating safety needs during the course of the pool hours?  (Seeking an actual response, as I notice that recent U-reports asking this question have been closed despite zero answers.) On August 10-11, there was an alarming disconnect between lifeguards and actual use of the facility. Despite a hot, sunny weekend with dozens of patrons in and around the main pool (including plenty of small children), there was only a single lifeguard on duty sitting on the ground level staff bench for the **entire main pool**.  At least on Aug 17-18, the west end of the main pool was closed, reducing by half the active scan area for the single on duty lifeguard. It would be terrible to have a safety emergency at the city pools worsened by underestimating the need for lifeguards on duty.

Case Date:

8/18/2024

There have been many wonderful improvements with the new Hawthorne Greenway, but there's a glaring absence of a decent pedestrian crosswalk from Weatherstone Ave. walking East or West across Woodlawn two new accessible curb cuts were made on the Weatherstone side of that intersection, but then, there's no crossing support for pedestrians to get into the park from there. I think a lot more kids will be taking that path from Weatherstone or from Hawthorne to cut across the park to get into Templeton Elementary School. A painted, raised crosswalk with signage would be ideal. Is that in the plans?

Case Date:

8/18/2024

I noticed on Sunday 8/11/24 two vehicles parked on the grass at Bryan Park.b there was a party at the Woodlawn shelter, and people just decided to park on the grass, perhaps so that they could more easily carry items into the shelter. This is the third time I've seen that this year, and it's a terrible precedent to be set. There is a split rail fence along part of the park property on Woodlawn. Could Parks and rec consider extending that along with signage that says no parking? When people rent the shelter, that rule can be reinforced in the agreement to rent for the day. People, to be honest, are pretty stupid. There are no signs that say "no cars", and I think it needs to be explicitly stated. Otherwise, people are going to keep driving into the Woodlawn shelter area.

Case Date:

8/18/2024

The crosswalk “person” symbol does not display at the corner of 4th & Walnut.

Case Date:

8/12/2024

Hello Park and Recreation Team,  I would like to share my thoughts about the new equipment called "Victory Tower” at Bryan park.   Would you consider adding something like a ladder to come down?  I see 2 options to come down either by a pole or come down with the slope.  When more kids are waiting in the line to enjoy the equipment, it is hard to come down the slope.  I do not know but I feel like the pole is expected to be used.   When my child tried to use the pole, it was a little bit far from the top of the equipment so she got scared of grabbing a pole. More kids were trying to play with the equipment and my child felt pressured and cried.  I wish I could have climbed the pole to grab her but I could not.  If a child gets stuck at the top of the equipment, it will cause congestion.  I feel like adding something like a ladder to come down would be more helpful. 

Case Date:

8/12/2024

Large stack of discarded furniture and debris is sitting in the yard at the edge of Dodds for an extended period of time. Need to be removed as it is unsanitary and unsightly.

Case Date:

8/12/2024

Tenants just dumped trash on curb and it has been sitting there for over two trash/recycling pickup cycles. The lot (two houses on one lot) has been a continual problem for the neighborhood with trash/debri and just in general inconsiderate neighbors.

Case Date:

8/11/2024

What are the safety protocols for lifeguards on duty? There are two lifeguards on duty for the main pool at 2:30 pm, but the elevated chairs designed for lifeguards to easily scan the pool are empty. Instead, both lifeguards are seated together, chatting on the staff bench. There are easily 60+ people at the Bryan Park Pool now and plenty of small children. Until this weekend, lifeguards at Bryan Park Pool used the elevated chairs all summer and rotated frequently. Follow-up to #192811: https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=192811

Case Date:

8/11/2024

What are the safety protocols for lifeguards on duty? There are two lifeguards on duty for the main pool at 2:30 pm, but the elevated chairs designed for lifeguards to easily scan the pool are empty. Instead, both lifeguards are seated together, chatting on the staff bench. There are easily 60+ people at the Bryan Park Pool now and plenty of small children. Until this weekend, lifeguards at Bryan Park Pool used the elevated chairs all summer and rotated frequently. Follow-up to #192811: https://bloomington.in.gov/crm/tickets/view?ticket_id=192811

Case Date:

8/10/2024

Does the City of Bloomington/Parks and Rec have a lifeguard:patron ratio that they implement? As of 1:30 pm, there are about 30 people in the main pool (not including the deep end) and only one lifeguard on duty. This lifeguard was seated in an oversight chair on the south side of the pool. When I asked the four off-duty lifeguards about the ratio, one told me that only a single lifeguard was sufficient for the whole pool for the number of patrons. He also indicated that they did not need to close off the west end of the pool to reduce the scan area for the lone lifeguard. However, after that, he did ask the seated lifeguard to go down to ground level to scan the pool.