Environment
Public calls on La Crosse leaders to make decision camping bans
La Crosse’s city council again is discussing banning camping by the homeless in city parks.
At its July meeting, the council approved a 12-hour limit for camping in one spot, but that is being reviewed.
Meanwhile, people continue to speak out about the use of the marsh.
Mary Nelson, at Tuesday’s judiciary and Administration Committee meeting, expressed concern about protecting the area for animals.
“I believe as community members, we are responsible for protecting this fragile and vital wetland,” Nelson said, “as this is a unique habitat for the animals who call this home, and they need us humans to defend it.”
Another speaker at the meeting, Mary Kay Kavanaugh, described conditions in the camping area as “horrible” and “sickening.”
Robert Hanson showed his frustration and argued that the city doesn’t seem to have a plan for the dozens of people staying in parks.
“I understand you don’t want it down there,” Hanson said. “I don’t want it in my neighborhood, either. You have no plan as to what to do in order to deal with 45 tents and 60 people. You just want to shut it down. They’re not going away.”
The city may reverse the decision made last month to put a 12-hour limit on camping in a single spot. The camping situation will be put on the council agenda for its August 8th meeting.
John Q Public
July 31, 2024 at 5:45 am
Liberals can’t make up their mind if their life depended on it
Kevin
July 31, 2024 at 6:31 am
It is not camping, it is squatting, occupying, residing, it is NOT camping, at least not in the traditional sense of the word that most folks think of when they read camping. Walking on the marsh trail just off of Copeland/HWY53, there has to be at least 50-100 people living on the sides of the trail there. The amount of refuse present is significant.
I certainly understand not wanting to use our city parks for these ‘camper/squatters’, at the least in an unchaperoned, or policed environment, we know the parks will be destroyed.
At this point, though, barring a ‘miracle’ of zoning, funding, commercial and private cooperation, this area is being ruined and is far less likely to be cleaned up than a park.
Seems like our whizbang city leaders ought to be able to come up with a way to create a ‘camping’, or what i would refer to as a policed (supervised) living environment that has some semblance of rules/boundaries (no old air conditioners, no stock pile of lumber, no piles of old bicycles), a dumpster to dispose of waste, supervision to enforce a degree of reasonable humane hygiene, primitive facilities and water to clean up with.
It will cost us, the taxpayers something, no doubt, but the condition of these folks living arrangements is unacceptable, with this, i agree with the mayor. From my perspective, it is a disease waiting to happen, and will overflow into the greater population. At some point, it will not be ‘out of sight, out of mind’, it will overflow into the greater city environment.
It is indeed already doing that, I would not recommend walking or biking the marsh trails to any tourist, at least from riverside going east, or from the nature center going towards the marsh.
Bob N.
July 31, 2024 at 7:46 am
” Sometimes doing our best is not good enough; we must do what’s required”