A resident of Bolesławiec contacted the istotne.pl editorial office. The issue concerns a shelter for cyclists erected at the entrance to Bolesławiecki Rowerowy Park Umiejętności, which opened a year ago. The shelter was intended to serve cyclists, families with children having picnics and tourists visiting the Park, but every day it is a place where people with alcohol addictions drink.
– I walk between Piastów and Tysiąclecia several times a day. Today (June 17 – ed.), after seven o’clock, there were two men sleeping on a bench. I came back that way at around 10:00 and there was another whole group of people swearing and drinking alcohol, and it is like that every day – the woman says.
As she emphasizes, the problem particularly affects children.
– For children who are returning from or going to school, it is not a good example; it is something terrible – the woman says.
There is a surveillance camera on site, but, as the resident points out, it is not possible to hear through it what is being said there. The camera records how many people are sitting under the shelter, but it does not provide a full picture of the situation.
We checked what was happening under the shelter and, indeed, at 14:30, three people were feasting at the table. They were swearing and discussing loudly, and several beer cans stood on the table.
Table and benches to be removed?
According to the woman, the best solution would be to remove either the entire shelter or at least the table and benches.
– Let the shelter remain, but let them remove the table and benches. Then there will be nowhere to sit and drink – the woman suggests.
The resident points out that the problem grew over time. At first, two or three people appeared under the shelter. Now, she says, it has become a gathering place for people from all over Bolesławiec.
– There are always different people. They not only drink, but also approach people and ask for money – she adds.
Proposal: open a second pedestrian crossing
The woman also proposes another solution.
– Let them open the pedestrian crossing near the hospital, in the area of Jagiellonów Street. The children would come straight out onto a crossing with traffic lights. They would not have to walk past that forest – she argues.
She stresses that this is not about opening a road for cars, but about a safe route for pedestrians, used every day by students and residents not only from Piastów and Jagiellonów streets, but also from more distant parts of the city.
Appeal to services and the Municipal Guard
The resident appeals to councillors and municipal services to review the surveillance footage and take real action.
– What is happening there is truly scandalous. For such a long period of time – she concludes.
On June 17, we called the Bolesławiec Municipal Guard to ask whose camera monitors the entrance to the Park, but the duty officer told us to send an inquiry by email. He did not want to answer. We informed him that the area under the shelter was occupied by people drinking alcohol, but he did not comment on this and focused on telling us to send the inquiry by email. We will ask whether the Municipal Guard is aware of the situation, whether it will take action, and we will publish the response.