Problems at Brittingham Park

For lack of a better term, there are many "sketchy" people that hang out at Brittingham Park (on the corner of Park Street and West Washington Avenue), especially in the shelter. This is definitely not a park you would want to be in when the sun sets (I don't even like rollerblading or jogging through it during the day). I often use the park to play kickball, and I have friends who use it to play soccer, and there's one thing we agree upon: if you have to use the bathroom, hold it! That shelter is gross enough as it is, but the bathrooms are even worse. I have seen the sketchy people passed out in that bathroom, and who knows how many times drugs have been used in them.

There's always a huge police presence at this tiny park, but I don't feel much safer with them there. The Capital Times printed a story today about a homeless person who died in the park. The article goes on and on about neighbors' concerns, especially regarding the number of homeless and drunks at the shelter. One thing the author forgot to mention is that the shelter was the base for a group of criminals to plan out their crimes last summer.

It's sad, but I think they need to lock up the shelter each night at 8 p.m. I know, it's the equivalent of putting a bucket under a leak instead of fixing the leak, and consequently I'm not sure where these sketchy people will go, but any solution is better than no solution.