What’s the biggest bummer about Manteca’s parks?
According to responses to phone surveys and policy workshops conducted by the consulting firm cobbling together the city’s park and recreation master plan for the next 20 years it is the homeless.
The Manteca City Council was told Tuesday that citizens said their least favorite parks were Northgate and Library parks due to unpleasant encounters with the homeless.
The input was from earlier in the year before the Manteca Police Department effort to address homeless concerns gained traction. New city rules in place as well as a concerted effort to eliminate illegal encampments has reduced many issues in city parks regarding the homeless and others that some classify as “daytime homeless” who have no place else to hangout.
Councilman Vince Hernandez, who at the start of baseball season brought the problem of homeless sleeping and then defecating in the Lincoln Park baseball diamond dugouts, noted that there has been a marked improvement in the conduct of the homeless when they use city parks.
Now, for example, they gather at Lincoln Park to visit their fellow homeless and occasionally use the BBQs. They usually don’t gather until after nightfall and are dispersed typically before 10 p.m., when they apparently go to places to bed down for the night or else roam the streets hunting for recyclables.
Things have also improved somewhat at parks with restrooms since the city switched to a security service to make sure bathrooms are locked at night when city rules essentially close parks down until morning.
The overall tone of the survey was positive in regards to Manteca. Respondents said what they liked about Manteca was its location, community involvement, affordable housing compared to the Bay Area, and the fact it’s a family-orientated community.
As for the parks, they indicated their favorite municipal facilities were the senior center, Woodward Park, Library Park, Lincoln Park with the municipal swimming pool, and the Tidewater Bike Way.
The council is expected to review the final draft of the master plan in February.