Woodward Park is getting trashed

Now that The Bee has published letters about disgraceful litter and weeds along Freeways 41 and 99, and the mayor has pressured Caltrans to clean their areas, I have the next candidate – Woodward Park.

In a city woefully short of parks, it is a severely overused favorite. In 2009, I appealed to incoming Mayor Ashley Swearengin to ban cage fighting and the event’s beer trucks from this once peaceful place of beauty and music. She did! In the park’s northeast corner is a new and wonderfully designed area of reflection and rest created by the “Art of Life Cancer Foundation” and private donors.

But, beyond are broken fences, old trash cans, worn rutted trails, graffiti and litter. Surely, a small maintenance staff and limited budget are factors. But, lazy people are to blame. Every day I run there, I pick up 20-35 beer bottles and discarded cups – some strewn within a few feet of a trash can!

Here’s an idea: Free park admission for any group signed up to pick up the litter once a week or month at a chosen shelter or trail. I’ll take the hill trails to Riverview Shelter weekly. Who is with me?

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Woodward Park is getting trashed."