Patrol People’s Park

My girlfriend and I are avid bicyclists and runners, and one of the routes we use takes us across the bridge near People’s Park. There are often a dozen cars sitting unmanned in the parking lot, and we always wondered where all of the people are.

One day we rode our bikes though the trails and saw more than we would like. I don’t care if you are heterosexual or homosexual, but it is a public park, and is not a place to hook up for anonymous encounters.

After asking many people, I found that it is common knowledge that People’s Park is often used for such purposes by gay men, and some people thought it was funny. We do not.

Where are the police to patrol this public area? Where is the service of protecting the people that go there to enjoy the park for innocent reasons? If it is common knowledge, why is it not cleaned up? After the recent attention it has received, perhaps it is time to do so and send a message to would-be anonymous encounter seekers: Get a room.

Phillip Petty

Spokane