A lone turkey ambled along on the Perwinkle Bikepath on July 14.
One of my bike routes through Albany takes me along the Perwinkle Bikepath, and on it you can see different kind of sights, from wildlife to trash.
On one recent ride I was surprised to see a turkey wandering across the path. I went past it and stopped. The bird lingered long enough to have its picture taken.
This was in the vicinity of Kinderpark, the children’s playground and ballpark facing Oak Street on the other side.
A few yards farther south, I came across the remains of what for some time had been a camping spot for a group of people. At one time their improvised camp was on the paved path itself. Later they moved off to the side, on property apparently belonging to a church.
Anyway, on the day of the turkey encounter the people were gone but their stuff remained.
A couple of weeks later, on July 26, a lot of the material had been removed. I don’t know who did the work. Whoever it was, maybe they’ll come back and finish the job.
The Periwinkle Bikepath is a great route for what some people now call “active transportation.”
Completed by the city in 1977 in cooperation with the Oregon Highway Department, this off-street route is well worth keeping in good order so it can be used on foot or two wheels — or on anything with nonmotorized wheels — for a long time to come. (hh)
A somewhat closer look at our feathered friend.
On July 16, here’s the pile of stuff left by people who had camped there, on private property bordering the bike path.
On July 26, much of the debris had been cleared away, but a good deal remained.
Thanks for keeping this MUP in the public eye regarding the ongoing graffiti & trash problem.
Things seem better since Marvin’s Garden was populated. The problem obviously isn’t eliminated. It appears they’ve removed “some” brush by the footbridge and a bit of tree & brush behind Lowes where they cut that big hole in the fence. Much more needs to be “selectively pruned”.
I rode by Marvin’s Garden on the bus Wed. Both sections seemed inhumanely packed IMO. I presume the school bus property is planned to be Marvin’s Build It They Will Come?
I agree. We should go back to that golden era when the Homeless could pick and choose their own camping spot … a place that more closely fits their camping needs. Marvin Gardens forces everyone into a confined and “inhumane” space, creating who knows what manner of problems. Free the Homeless from government overreach.
The city will continue to push the homeless problem on the people with the least power to help solve the problem. Without the ability to protect ourselves from bearing the brunt of of the homeless, substance addicted and mentally ill, we will suffer along with them. The residents of Albany only know what the city tells them. They blow sunshine up our patootie saying they have the solution while it is just shoved under the overpass and out of sight from most of the people in the city. Moving a big mess does not clean it up. It is passing the buck to the people least able to handle the damage to their area and/or pass the buck to someone else. All of this is dysfunctional and dangerous to the community.