Access to the new boardwalk at Monteith Riverpark was blocked Sunday.
As part of the Monteith Riverpark renovation, the City of Albany built a short boardwalk for easy access to a brush-covered gravel bar at the confluence of the Calapooia and Willamette rivers. But you couldn’t go there Sunday.
The concrete path leading to the boardwalk was blocked by a six-foot temporary fence of the type used for crowd control during big events, such as the city’s River Rhythm concerts.
This was a little baffling. Why build an elaborate concrete path and wooden boardwalk and then block the public from using it on a Sunday in July? Summertime is about the only time people might use that boardwalk to get to the rivers’ banks.
Another baffling item was the sign on the new park restroom spelling out rules and hours of operation of the new splash pad.
The sign says the splash pad is open from 10 a.m. to dusk. That’s why last week a family was surprised to find the pad closed at 8 p.m., with the sun still fairly high in the sky and more than an hour of daylight left.
City officials told me at the time the splash pad hours were 10 to 8, but then Councilwoman Stephanie Newton Azorr pointed out on Facebook what the sign actually said.
This prompted me to see for myself on a bike ride Sunday. I didn’t hang around till 8 or sunset, so I don’t know just when the splashing actually came to a halt.
So what happened? Did the sign maker misunderstand? Were the instructions unclear? Did the city staff change the plan and forget about the sign?
A final puzzling detail: The new restroom doors have numerical keypads. Whatever for? Do you need a code to get in? And anyway, don’t the doors lock from the inside when someone is in there, like toilet doors everywhere in the civilized world?
No doubt there are answers to these little bafflements. But it’s Sunday night and I can’t find out what they are. (hh)
The sign gives the rules and hours of the splash pad at Monteith Riverpark.
I’ve been trying to get down to the river for the last week. It’s been blocked off the entire time. Makes it really hard to rockhound down there.
I just walk around the fence.
they also need to change the water like run continuously thru busy hours during summer on hot days.
the button sometimes takes forever to activate. and doesnt run very long
Saw a lot of bums around there on Sat. Looks like they are enjoying what their tax dollars are paying for. Oh wait, they don’t pay taxes.
Just because they are homeless. They might have a disability that prevents them to live a normal life. Unlike you sitting on your high horse. Imagine what would happen if you lost everything you take for granted ( house,car,family) what ever the situation some people have been homeless maybe they have been separated from family so long they forgot what it’s like to have some one to love or help them going into a proper way
Of course you are complaining about homeless. If you lost everything ( cars, family, house, etc. ) I’m really sure that after losing all this you probably would be homeless and getting judged by alot of public. Have you ever stopped and offered them help. Or just asked them about there history. Could be they have had some kinda breakdown. You could be the one who changes there life. Could be as simple as offering them a phone call to a loved one that they lost during their breakdown
Come to think of it, of course the bathroom doors need a code to enter. The City/CARA does not want homeless people to use the bathrooms, but I don’t think they can have an employee there 24 hours a day manning the bathroom doors and asking people if they are homeless or not. The City/CARA are not Christ-like in their treatment of homeless people.
In Venice California the homeless have moved into public bathrooms with matresses and then locked the bathroom doors!! The police have to be called to get them to leave. Then another team has to go in and pick up needles and hose down the interior after removing all the trash.
Been there a couple times with the kids, so these observations are from small sample size:
– the bathrooms were unlocked and keypads inactive. The doors can be locked from the inside. The keypads are presumably to allow the bathrooms to be selectively locked on a preprogrammed schedule. Anti-homeless advocates should be happy.
– the fountain sprayers seemed to run for 8-10min per cycle, then have a 1-3min cooldown before the button reactivated them. Didn’t actually time it, those are just seat-of-the-pants estimates.
“Anti-homeless”? What exactly do you mean by that? Please be specific while standing on your pedestal.
It’s not like we hate homeless people, we don’t like the trash, packages that had drugs in, poop everywhere and the needles they leave behind. So until they start picking up the trash that they leave behind, people are not going to be happy with them anywhere. Taxpayers should not have to fit the bill for the clean up.
_foot_ the bill
Yes, so true!
Regarding the fence blocking the use of cement path that ends abruptly at the banks of The Willamette River, the City may have found that their cement path to the river’s edge is not a good idea. The park is now a kiddie playground and so kiddies will be at the park and run down to the edge of the big Willamette River. Not a good situation.
For years I’ve taken in homeless people but now Oregon law has made it impossible. If I had trouble with one of these homeless people I would call the police and they would escort them off my property, but now they escort “You” off your own property and you have to fight a legal battle to get rid of the person you were trying to help. What a hopeless world this is turn to Jesus while you can.
Mary Jo, that is why homelessness is becoming such a problem. The burden to help the homeless has weighed heavy on the people that do care. Areas were the homeless are herded into are trashed and exposed to criminal activity that the other areas are not exposed to. The shelters and other temporary options consume funds that should be used for permanent homes. Local businesses are struggling in the same way you mention. The city of Albany has left the businesses to deal with all their schemes that backfire. The city shrugs its shoulders and moves on to make areas for people with more money to enjoy and live. Meanwhile getting more funding to continue their ill fated efforts to manage the homeless. They lay a guilt trip on the people that have the burden of the homeless crammed down their throats. It is absolutely wrong to expect hard working people that live paycheck to paycheck on the brink of economic tragedy themselves to be the ones sacrificing their lives and risk being homeless themselves. Viewing the people that ignore the problem completely as positive and look to the future in a positive way, without any sense of reality, are the people who are not compassionate to the plight of anyone, is adding to the problem. Give compassion to the all people that have endured the consciences of homelessness without any relief. Give credit where credit is due and stop giving credit to a city that solves nothing.
I’m not surprised they didn’t bring back the old foot bridge between the two parks behind the stage, I miss it. But I was hoping they would have.
There are services for the homeless people that truly want help and are willing to work and stay off drugs .
The bums that trash, poop and gobble up our hard earned taxpayers dollars, ( I work 60 + per week) are a result of a broken welfare and drug enforcement system. There arre no incentives for them to quit addiction and work because of the handouts available in Oregon. They come here from outside states, “Oregon is where all the free stuff is “.
Just observe all the broken down derelict vehicles on the sides.