CR parks full of weeds, swamps

To the editor:

It's past time for the city of Cedar Rapids to put money in other places rather than downtown. Everyone knows about the condition our roads are in, but do you know the condition our parks are in? I'm talking about the Fox Trail Park on Council Street NE and Hunting Ridge Park on C Avenue NE.

These parks have several swamps that take up a huge amount of space where people could be enjoying outdoor events. The swamps are overgrown with unsightly weeds as well as providing a nursery for mosquitoes to breed and we all know they carry a variety of diseases. It appears the swamps could be connected to the storm drains without spending a fortune.

There is plenty of building construction in the area where the city could probably get all the fill dirt they need for free.

Instead of passing out tax incentives, like passing out candy on trick-or-treat night, some of that money could be used for the rest of the people in Cedar Rapids.

Russell Marks

Cedar Rapids