Return to Hemming: Death Walk of Death 2: Trail of Death

[JeffreyS]

http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid301.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fnn72%2FVendingman%2F3253a89c.mp4

[BridgeTroll]

Your camera work is getting better!   Imagine two food trucks parked next to the church where the police usually park... Imagine another truck or two across the street from city hall next to the church.  Pretty sure I saw a young woman actually walking alone through the park... shocking...

[John P]

Sometimes its nice and sometimes it isnt. Too many times it isnt.

[JeffreyS]

Well I am out of town again next week but plan on doing a third installment the following week.  The point of these videos that show how nice Hemming seems to be when I am there usually lunch time isn't to say there is nothing to do. Rather that there is nothing radical to do and to dispel some myths. 

Clearly it is not the scary place Denise Lee or Ron Littlepage want you to believe.  If more law enforcing is needed use more law enforcement. Did you notice all of the empty seats available for someone who would use a food truck if it were there. Did you notice how beautiful the plaza is sure looks like a park to me.  This is just not a place that needs $800,000.00 of city money invested to license someone to make there decisions for them. 

If MOCHA wants to program the area let them or let the food trucks do it.  Heck do both.  Just keep the space a public park and add amenities do not remove them.

To anyone who regularly experiences the park not being nice feel free to post videos of those scenes. I did not do anything fancy just walked around with my iPhone then uploaded the video to photobucket and posted it.

[JeffreyS]

I really think all of this it is not a park talk started because I pointed out that loitering is what people commonly do in a park.

[sheclown]

I've been in the park a hundred times. I have never been attacked, cat-called, tattooed with swastika against my will, never been offered drugs or stolen goods.  I have been asked for a quarter before but that happens everywhere.

I do see old men playing chess, young men flirting with girls who shake their groove thing and bat their lashes.  I do see suits walking thru the park and JSO on those golf carts buzzing around.   

Much Ado About Nothing.

[Todd_Parker]

When does the sequel, 'Skyway: Death on High!', come out?

[Anti redneck]

It's actually a really nice area. Too bad it has such a bad reputation. It actually has the potential to become a destination.

[sheclown]

Hemming needs a good PR person.

[ben says]

Much Ado About Nothing.

Well said...

[JeffreyS]

Hemming needs a good PR person.

I am trying. I will upload the videos to Youtube if any one wants to share the Death Walks of Death.

[Timkin]

Let me know when this series runs in Theaters and on DVD.  It is sure to top Titanic's  2 billion !!

But seriously...I'm looking at this park and thinking ...$130k spent on "improving " it?  Really??  What needs to be that dramatically changed?

[ronchamblin]

Boy --- Looks like we MJ persons are, by our postings and with the help of others, influencing somewhat the drift of park solutions.  This is encouraging.  Democracy at work.   

I visited the park Thursday with a friend, sitting at one of the tables.  And Friday, I visited alone and sat on one of the ledges, the only empty tables being in the sun. Each visit was very enjoyable.  All kinds of people.  I will repeat what I said days ago â€" There seems to be less of the troublemaker types in the park.  Where are they?  Where have they gone?  Some are still there, but at levels approaching a tolerable balance.

I’ve noticed more local workers coming into the park, both male and female of the species â€" to read, to eat lunch, to chat with a friend.  This is encouraging.  I will repeat what I and others have suggested; that there should be an open effort to encourage local workers and residents to “visit” the park, to “enjoy” it, as much as possible, else others will continue to commandeer it.  This simple move might be one of the most powerful and effective we’ve got, and it’s free.

This encouragement effort, along with occasional programing of special “stuff”, will gradually produce the desired results, which is to achieve an image in the park which will allow “any” chance downtown visitor to feel comfortable in the park.

Although some might still wish to invest money into the park to “change” it, doing so should be to fundamentally enhance it, but not to “shape” it to push out certain types, as doing so will push out all types. 

Therefore, I hope there is no movement against the large oaks…… no movement to decrease the amenities such as the permanent table/chair assemblies.  Some trees do need replacement with teenage trees.  Perhaps some of the raised areas can be leveled so that the new trees will have a better growing environment, with the added benefit of better visibility for gestapo cruising the streets.  Perhaps some of the damaged tables and chairs could be repaired or replaced â€" or removed, as there seems to be an abundance of them. 

As the overall scenario improves, we might find it feasible to put restrooms in Hemming.  Just the other day, about two o’clock in the afternoon, I saw a fellow, a regular Joe with a backpack, using the alley next to the Snyder Memorial church as a restroom.  Of course, he could have used the Library or attempted to use one of the retail stores in the area.  But he would have used a Hemming restroom if it had been available.  Having a restroom can be a real “positive”.  Not having one is a constant “negative”.  A restroom in Hemming would be feasible only after the balance between the “occupy” types and the regular users was achieved.  And it would have to be monitored by whoever is watching the park.

Many of the people using (occupying) the park are of course unemployed, a condition which hopefully will be improved upon with time.  If unemployment increases, the balance we desire in Hemming will be more difficult to achieve and maintain.

As I mentioned on an earlier post, the large oaks not only block the sun’s harmful rays, but actually cool the area below them.  A large oak tree can draw from the ground via its root system up to 50 gallons of water per day.  And some of that water evaporates from the leaves during the hot sun, cooling the air, which then descends slowly to the ground, cooling any animal or human below.

If I were a religious person, I would suggest that this wonderful natural “free” process was some god’s way of making his or her people comfortable.  Not being infected with religion, I can only appreciate this gift from nature, and suggest that if these beautiful wonders of nature were removed, some visitors would be forced to endure a little taste of hell as they tried to endure Hemming on a hot day without the large oaks for shade and cooling.

   


 

[sheclown]

Whenever you find yourself in Hemming Park, check-in on facebook.  It will encourage others to use the park.