To the editor:

A month or so ago, city officials announced that “camping will no longer be allowed anywhere in Lawrence, including Brook Creek Park, Burcham Park and Sandra Shaw Park.”

I happen to live close to Burcham and Sandra Shaw parks, and over the weekend spent an hour walking through the area just north of these parks. I would encourage city officials (perhaps accompanied by a police escort) to walk through this area to measure the effectiveness of their recent decree. While I did not conduct a headcount, I came across dozens of homeless camps, providing rustic shelter to perhaps more than 100 people. While recent headlines suggest that the city is effectively dealing with the problem of homelessness, my eyeballs see something different.

Ray Finch,

Lawrence