Letter: City should do more to protect Idle park

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[Several] weeks ago, The Idle park in Fountain Square was demolished by thugs. They turned several years of planning and $15,000 worth of public contributions into a mess of trash and graffiti.

Set between interstates 65 and 70 in the city’s highway “spaghetti bowl,” this diamond-shaped pocket park on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail was an oasis of rest and relaxation for travelers on the trail. It was the brainchild of Sherry and Tom Battista.

Vandals absolutely destroyed this unique park at 800 Virginia Ave.—and it had to have taken an hour or so. The police apparently never noticed, despite being two blocks from Fountain Square. When I visited it on a Sunday morning, a homeless man was using the park as a place to defecate.

I am appalled nothing has been done by the city to designate the park, to fence it off on one side, patrol it, support it or even help clean up the damage. None of the city’s direction signs mention The Idle.

Voters are to blame for electing this ineffective group of “leaders” into office.

__________

Steven Pettinga

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