Gonna need to side with Polasek on this one. I often work late and go for long, relaxing walks late in the evening. It would not be uncommon for me to walk through my neighborhood after midnight. The trail is just a huge sidewalk - NOT a park. Closing it at 11 pm would be foolish. Midnight or 1 am might be a workable compromise.

I agree with J Williams. The city wants to enforce rules governing where and what time I can travel? If I travel between certain times I may be stopped as a suspicious person? Do we need to burden the officers with another ordinance to enforce? How about the VPD raises its patrol officer staffing level to meet the current population/crime trends? Most people are unaware that the VPD has the same number (minimum staffing) of patrol officers as they did in 1980.

Is there a way for Chief JJ to run statistics displaying data from patrol officers responding proactively to police calls, compared to responding to crimes already committed?

With the constant addition of ordinances, rules and new laws, we are only reducing the opportunity for good offices to be proactive. I believe this “proactive style” of policing is superior because the officers working the beat know who the trouble makers are, they know where the troubled areas are and they know they can prevent the commission of crimes often times with simple officer presence.

Responding to offenses after the commission, i.e. living in a camper for 7 days, thrashing pecan trees in the park or whatever city ordinance violation that occurred and did not take place in the officer’s presence or view, limits the opportunity to actually enforce laws that did happen in the officer’s presence and view.

More laws, more customers and no raise in patrol staffing in twenty years? Now sit back and ask why there is more crime. Not enough laws? Or not enough police?

Just my two cents.

Close the trail late at night like Edith said. Make it like the Park is supposed to be.

Has anyone heard anything regarding the never ending city prescence down at the Pumphouse?
The city has been on again, off again, and now on again working on this project all year. I thought original numbers were something like 54, 67, 13 parking places or whatever arbitrary number the council was tossing around. Then after they got caught just spitting out information that sounded idiotic even to themselves, they came out almost overnight with a revision and a whole bunch of new numbers. Total cost = your guess is good as mine.

Now we, yes we, our city is still down there repairing this and that.

Is there anyone on our council that is willing to venture a wild guess as to the amount "we" have spent on this "help the pumphouse owners" project?

The RV issue is completely nonenforceable. How can anyone prove that a person has occupied an RV for 7 days (unless the city dedicates resources to 'stake out' the offending RV-er...I wouldn't put it past them)? What is the definition of 'occupy' here?

If anything the ordinance makes it much more difficult to do what they were trying to do in the first place. If they wanted to do it right, they should have FOCUSED ON THE RV in the ordinance, not the people occupying it. I'm no lawyer, but that seems like a pretty obvious oversight to me.

I have to disagree with Councilman Polasek on the matter of a curfew on the trail. A curfew would be a good thing. It would line up with the curfews in the city parks.

On the RV matter, Jeff Williams raises a very good point--the Christmas tree guy. How long is the Stock Show carnival in town? More than a week? Will the city be building RV camping spots on the Community Center grounds for the Stock Show workers?

HookEm1 is right--the city doesn't need to micro-manage this matter. It was one man. Declare him a public nuisance and be done with it!

JeffWilliams,
I totally agree with your comment.

If Victoria has 60,000 people ...
1% would be 600 people. I'm sure 600 people are not living in their RV

1/10th of 1% would be 60 people. Unlikely 60 people are living in RVs

1/10 of 1/10th of 1% would be 6 people. MAYBE, you could find this many, if you looked long enough ... and so what!

Do we have to have the city council micro-managing down to this level for the "common good"? How is this a threat to the citizens of Victoria? For goodness sake ... is this really what things have come to? What has happened to 'the land of the free'?

I would love to see a court challenge of this new law that has been endorsed by our newspaper and passed by our elected officials. If I had an RV, I would move out of my house and in to it today!

I find it amazing that there is nothing in this article regarding the "law" passed that limits what a private citizen can do with their personal property on private property.

From a report received from another news source it appears this law was passed because of problems with primarily one individual. Now the guy selling Christmas trees on Sears parking lot will be in violation as well as the couple who visits their children for the holidays and sets up their RV on PRIVATE property and don't cause anyone any problems will also be in violation.

Every day more and more of our personal freedoms are being attacked and no one seems to be greatly concerned. One day soon we are all going to wake up to a country where every aspect of our lives is monitored and controlled by the government.

This dates back to the 1800's but is becoming more and more relevant today.

"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me."

Enforcing hours could be trouble. In all reality, it will never be safe. Brilliant idea to built a trail that crosses airline, miori, and stockbauer.

I think this is a great idea, however I feel that it shouldn't of taken someone to be a victim of a violent crime to make it happen. It should of been done from the very start of the hike and bike trail.

How about just stopping speeders, red light and stop sign runners. This chief is not doing anything different than the yahoo before him.

Common sense dictates that you aren't out jogging on a trail between 11p.m. and 5 a.m. I think setting hours would be the absolute best and cheapest (free) thing you could do to improve safety and cut down on crime not just on the trail but in the immediate area as well.