I run the Trail starting at Tapp Rd frequently. I have noticed a proliferation of plants along the Trail so that the Trail is narrowed considerably. Especially there is a plant with a pink blossom. It appears very invasive. I don't know if you want these plants or not. I would think not.
Paula, I wrote earlier today about an issue on the Trail, and I didn't clearly state which Trail. I am talking about the Rail Trail off of Country Club Rd. There is a proliferation of seemingly invasive plants on the first mile or so of the Trail. I thought you would like to know.
Hello! I am inquiring about two $10 registrations for which I would like a refund. On 8/21 I registered my son for two nature classes that were part of the Junior Rangers program. These were 340002-A and 340002-B. On 9/5 the instructor of the program called me and said (in a voice mail message) that he had info saying my son was registered for a class and that they were "cancelling the program due to lack of enrollment". I inquired once before via the "contact us" portion of the registration website, but this was a couple of weeks ago and have not yet been contacted. I hope this method of contact can lead to the two $10 refunds and a resolution. Thanks!
Hi, I contacted the city a few weeks ago regarding the status of Park Ridge Park and the materials on areas around the park and shelter in that park. In that note, I suggested cleaning up the debris in the park so as to prevent having to mitigate the problems caused by leaving them over the winter. The past two years, erosion mitigation was done on the park and it occurred to me that if the debris were removed, their would be less work in the spring to get the park back to the way it was at the beginning of fall. That suggestion was passed on to Dave Williams and I have not yet heard anything back from the parks department. I would like to know what the plans are for park with regards to debris removal. I am concerned now that since the true winter has begun and the city leaf removal is over, the debris will now remain in place all winter, hopefully to be removed soon enough in the spring such that only minimal work will have to be done in the spring. Perhaps if I had none that Parks would not be able to handle the debris removal, we could have organized a neighborhood effort to take care of the problem but it seems like that time has passed. To be clear, I really appreciate the responsiveness the Parks Department has had to suggestions and concerns about the Park Ridge Park and no doubt all the other parks. The erosion mitigation efforts conducted over the last two years did have a very positive effect and the park, the neighborhood and the city are all better for them. I am sure that something will get worked out this time as well and look forward to hearing what the plan is going forward for our wonderful, small and highly shaded park. Thank you.
First - thank you for how responsive the department has been to our observations about Park Ridge Park. We really appreciate it! Park Ridge has a density of plants in and around it and is a relatively small park. As such, the amount of debris that can accumulate on the park compared to its size is quite high. We have witnessed that this debris tends to remain over the winter and well into spring if it isn't removed. We have seen that this eventually causes problems as the debris prevents grass from overwintering well and regrowing in the spring. This leads to bare spots (especially since the park is pretty all sloped except for the build in structures) leading to erosion. The Parks Department has worked diligently to mitigate these erosion issues through sowing grass seed, putting down straw mats, etc. This has been effective at at least stopping the erosion. However, I wonder if these mitigation efforts will have to be repeated next spring given the amount of debris in park. I suggest removing the debris now to hopefully prevent future problems and accompanying efforts to fix those problems. Please let us know what you think and thanks again for your responsiveness and hard work at making Park Ridge and Bloomington a great place to live and work. Cheers, John
Hi, First, thank you for removing the leaves from Park Ridge Park, the excellent park in the Park Ridge neighborhood, in April. Now, it seems like it is in need of a little bit of post-winter care. The areas where the leaves laid overwinter have become bare (see the picture). This is a spot that the Parks Department has worked hard trying to recover before and I suppose it is time work on it again. There are also other bare spots in the park where leaves had laid over winter (by the shelter - to the east) and for some unknown reason to the south of the swings. Could these areas please be addressed with grass seed and straw to make sure that park stays maintainable, that the structures don't end being compromised by erosion, and to make the park less of a mess after a rain? Also, the mulch covering the area underneath the playground structure may need refilled, in particular underneath the swings. Finally, is there a regular schedule under which these aspects of the park(s) get addressed? I am sure there are priorities and limited resources. We do not want to bother the department - if we knew that this maintenance would be done (based on a known schedule), then we would only have the thank yous to include instead of a thank you and a request. Thanks again.
Hi, Regarding Park Ridge Park, as the fall leaf season approaches, I want to bring up leave removal at the park. It does seem as though some bare ground did develop at the park this season and I would say that it is due in part to the lack of leaf removal. Neighborhood residents might be able to aid in getting our very shaded and "treed" park cleared. To make the most of that, we would appreciate it if Parks and Rec or some other city agency could help out with coordinating with the leave removal crews to ensure that if we do gather the leaves that they will be picked up. Is that something that the department can help out with? Thanks as always, John
Thank you for putting down straw and grass seed in Park Ridge Park as well as putting out more playground fill!
The bollard at the head of the Polly Grimshaw Trail has broken off its base. The bollard itself is next to the trail out of the way. At this point, there is no protection of the trail or the park from cars/trucks. It seems like at least the broken bollard should be removed from the site and ideally a new one put in place.
I think the Limestone Greenway is a wonderful addition to our Trails. However, I think it needs at least one trash receptacle. Otherwise, it will get trashed.