Chris Billingsley sends in this great little report and some excellent pics from the Decatur Cemetery…

The bridges across the Decatur Cemetery creek are almost finished. For those of us who have walked through this rather wild part of Decatur east of the cemetery, the bridges and path will probably bring more walkers and improved safety but change the area to a more park-like setting. Somewhat sad but I’m glad that the unusual rock outcropping just south of one of the bridges will remain. In a small way, it makes me think of the waterfalls in the Druid Hills area that I enjoyed exploring so much as a boy (follow the Westchester neighborhood creek a few hundred yards outside the city boundary).

More pics after the jump!

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Allison passes along this note from the Winnona Park Message Board…

Meeting on 08/03/11 – Future Development of Dearborn Park

DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Department and Friends of Dearborn Park will host a public meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. in Hazelwood Hall at Columbia Presbyterian Church, 711 South Columbia Drive in Decatur to discuss plans for Dearborn Park. The general public is invited to attend.

As users and lovers of Dearborn Park, MWNA & Friends of Dearborn Park hope you’ll be there to give your input regarding the future possibilities for our neighborhood jewel! Parks and Recreation officials will discuss plans for the future development of Dearborn Park, located on 1301 Deerwood Drive in Decatur.

For more information, contact Revonda Moody at 404-294-2890. Also feel free to contact Rebecca Sullivan, environmental@midwayoodsneighborhood.com or Dana Perkins, president@midwaywoodsneighborhood.com

• Who: DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Department
• What: Public Meeting to discuss the future development of Dearborn Park
• Where: Hazelwood Hall, Columbia Presbyterian Church, 711 South Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30030
• When: Wednesday, August 3 at 6 p.m

You may recall that Dearborn Park was specifically mentioned in an earlier version of the 2010 Strategic Plan as an underutilized resource at the edge of Decatur’s city limits, though I believe it was removed for a more generalized “parks” goal in the final plan.

Pic above courtesy of the Park Renewal Day website

The AJC reports that the Norcross City Council voted on Monday to disallow pets in its city parks. Not even on a leash, not even with a fistful of plastic bags in your mitt (service animals excepted, however). According to the AJC, “The city has plans to erect signs alerting residents of the law and is still in the process of figuring out appropriate fines for the ordinance violations.”

No explanation here as to why the city would take such an action, but over on Norcross Patch, there’s an article suggesting that 1) this was already a law, but everybody ignored it, so while one city council member proposed changing the ordinance to go with the flow and allow pets, his proposal was voted down; 2) the main problem is poop-related; and 3) it’s probably unenforceable.

You can walk a well-behaved dog on a leash in a Decatur city park, as long as you clean up after it. My impression is that folks around here are pretty respectful of that rule. Is that your impression, too? And what do you reckon would happen if Decatur went the way of Norcross in the animals-in-parks department? Mass revolt?

Okay, go.

Chris Billingsley sends in this pic these new posts ‘n chains set up along the gravel road in Glenlake Park, where reports suggest that parking on the grass has gone unchecked for quite some time.

Welcome to the new normal!

Christine writes in…

Have you been to the McKoy Pool lately?? I mean, I love that place – it’s convenient and my two little kids adore the zero entry – but it’s gross. Band-aids floating by, cloudy water that helpfully hides the branches and dirt in the bottom, and don’t get me started on the muddy “lawn” area.

Is this just what it’s going to be like? Should I just suck it up because it’s a great pool for little kids? I already mandate showers at home immediately afterward. I’m dying to know if anyone else has similar thoughts or ideas to ask the city to clean it up.