EXCELLENTWAY SOCIETY(TM) COMMENT: Page 1 Of 4
4/16/2024
Milwaukee County Parks
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RE: Possible solutions to growing problems, considerations of Mitchell Boulevard Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Mitchell Boulevard Park, located at 52nd Street and Bluemound Roads in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is in danger! It is part of the award-winning Milwaukee County Parks System, and is only 16 acres, but despite its' size, just a great little park!
The main problem is that too many people, and many of them without regard or respect, are abusing and misusing this area. It is generally evident that as the number of patrons increase, so does the litter and boisterous nuisance. This park was not designed to be a place for large gatherings of people, but as a small but well thought out, neighborhood park, a few concerts here and there being allowed.
Please keep it the way it was designed, small and beautiful!
In as much as a local park is a public place, it belongs to the neighborhood in a greater sense first, and then to any guest or visitor. Mostly because the people that live near the park enjoy both its beauty and function and then must also tolerate the abuse of it that that some visitors generate. Please do not force the nearby residents to tolerate bad behavior or even make it necessary for them to constantly report the issues.
A park does not become something horrible and a place to avoid, overnight, but slowly. First by accepting its state of abuse, litter, unkempt areas, graffiti, and vandalism. Then persons gathering there without respect for each other or the neighborhood. Then a continuing lack of tender loving care or concern, where people see the problems but ignore them, and then predictably someone may get hit be a car, fights become routine, and shootings seal the fate of the park.
The time to improve a park, is before its demise, the time to enforce the park policies is when the people who love the park, still care about it, and it is a group effort, stronger than the negative influences who have no such respect. The time to keep a great little park beautiful, is before it becomes a bad park, where no one wants to go.
EXCELLENTWAY SOCIETY™ COMMENT: Page 2 Of 4
CONDITIONS OBSERVED:
· Patrons driving on the sidewalks and parking their vehicles near the Park House, leaving oil and other deposits, while dangerously mixing vehicles and possibly alcohol influenced drivers, with the pedestrians and often young children in close proximity.
· Patrons driving into the park to unload their vehicles, or to reload them.
· Patrons not placing litter in nearby receptacles. Often, literally, going out of their way to deliberately create litter and leave a mess, with trash barrels being just feet away. This includes dumping plates of food on the sidewalks.
· Patrons staying in the park past closing at dusk.
· Vehicles vandalized or broken into while parked, mostly at night.
· Minors using motorized bikes on sidewalks.
· Hot charcoal ashes left on grass, or on the concrete.
· Trip and fall hazards with large cracks and even missing asphalt pieces in sidewalks.
· Wooden picnic tables which are stacked up against the Park House are an ugly view, fire hazard, and taking up space.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO CONSIDER:
· Limit the number of total Patrons at the Park House to 25 or so? Now it is becoming common to see 10 families or more using this area at the same time, and abusing it. Large crowds also park on the roadway illegally when the legal parking spaces become full, and restrict the roadway, creating a hazardous condition for drivers and pedestrians. Notice other persons using the park for sports not to park illegally on the parkway roadway.
· Limit the number of picnic tables to no more than 4, possibly a more permanent plastic coated metal type, possibly green?
· Sheriff Patrol asked to just make a quick visit every so often, the park being right off the I-94 freeway, also being a nice place to rest for the squad, to check for vehicles in the park and general conditions?
· Restrict vehicle access? Stainless Steel Bollards at the start of each sidewalk, as it enters the park. "No Vehicles" "Love Your Park!" plainly marked on sidewalks. Bollards spaced wide enough for wheel chairs to move through but not vehicles. Sheriff squads and park personnel can drive around the bollards as necessary, or some may be designed to be unlocked and moved out of the way. Patrons can be encouraged to use wagons, rolling coolers, dollies, etc. to walk items in and out. Carrying things a short distance is far better than the hazard of driving vehicles all over the sidewalks. Sidewalks are for people, not cars.
Consider placing a nicely laid out perfectly symmetrical ring of stainless steel bollards around the play area and also to include the Park House, possibly lighted, which would become a work of art in itself. Possibly add a wider concrete walkway inside of it. Create a pedestrian "safe place" for patrons within. Park house, play area, and possibly some other element within the circle of bollards. Possibly add some other element, sculpture or other thing that would fill in the inner circle area created by the ring of installed bollards?
EXCELLENTWAY SOCIETY™ COMMENT: Page 3 Of 4
Consider replacing the deteriorating asphalt sidewalks with a quality, wider concrete footprint throughout the park, and creating an oval walking, running, bike riding, dog walking, option. It needs to be wider than normal to allow pedestrians and bike riders to pass easily and safely. It is possible to create such a long oval symmetrical concrete path from the north area of the park to the south area, without losing the large grassy area in the middle.
If a better quality and thicker concrete is employed, it will become a nice long lasting and beautiful element of the park. Consider adding benches along the way, possibly lighted bollards along the outside of this walkway?
· Consider brighter 3000K type lighting and replacing the downed light pole with a new one, long overdue on the apex of the far south turn of General Mitchell Boulevard. Light color is important, too blue makes a cold and hostile looking area, too yellow becomes annoying. Somewhere this side of warm probably most pleasing. Better roadway and park lighting may help reduce vehicle thefts and break ins.
· A few trash receptacles, possibly of a better quality than the metal mesh type now in use. One newer nicer looking trash receptacle for each parking area and two or three by tables and play area?
· Possibly seal and re-coat the parkway street. Asphalt beginning to show wear, re-coating would extend life. Re-mark center line of road, now faded.
· Fill asphalt cracks and areas that are trip hazards, some filled with growing weeds and soil in sidewalk areas. Possibly re-seal and re-coat sidewalks.
· Re-mark the parking spaces, now hardly visible.
· Check for gatherings after dusk. Keep the Park House exterior lights on, lately observed now lit at night, thank you!
· Install video cameras to identify or reduce vandalism.
· We are unsure of your current policies regarding grilling in this park, but persons leaving hot charcoal ashes on grass or concrete should be put on notice if observed, and fined, or further encouraged to use small gas grills in the first place. We understand how difficult it is to actually discourage bad behavior in the parks, or anywhere else for that matter, but if not confronted in some manner, the problem will continue and increase.
· The main rule to those who use the park should be "Please leave the park as nice as you found it, or better!"
We will support the park and do what we can to keep it a beautiful and welcoming place:
· We may donate some little funds to encourage improvement, possibly new green metal picnic tables?
· We will on occasion clean the entire park of accumulated litter, clear the sewers, clean and sanitize the bubbler, etc.
· We will report any suspicious activities observed.
EXCELLENTWAY SOCIETY™ COMMENT: Page 4 Of 4
Let us do whatever it takes to keep this little diamond of a park beautiful and precious! We can help!
We also appreciate all your fine work and efforts to manage such a large number of parks and park areas!
We thank you for all your excellent efforts, day in and day out!
We love the parks too!
Hawk, and The Excellentway Society™
414/4764295 USA © 2024 Hawk