A plan to crack down on public drunkenness and other disturbances in Madison's Brittingham Park -- unveiled by the mayor's office last spring -- appears to be working, city officials and a member of the local neighborhood group say.

There has been a "huge" change at the park since last summer, said Steve Agard, who has lived across the street from the park for about 30 years and is a member of the Monona Bay Neighborhood Association.

Neighbors had long complained that the park, and especially the park shelter, was a magnet for the homeless or people with alcohol and drug problems who spend hours hanging out there, make a lot of noise and sometimes harass passers-by or try breaking into parked cars.

But this year, "We're not having the problems" with petty criminal behavior, Agard said.

Data on calls for police service to the park appear to bear that out.

In June, July and August of last year, police responded to 99 calls at the three addresses that correspond to the park. From June 1 of this year through Aug. 20, they have responded to only 28. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said that for the January through July period, there was an 87 percent drop in liquor law violations at the park from 2007 to this year.

Police Lt. Stephanie Bradley Wilson of the city's South Police District, which includes Brittingham, said "the park has been quiet this spring and summer. We are very pleased, as is the neighborhood."

A 14-point plan to address safety in the park, released by Cieslewicz's office on April 9, includes adding surveillance cameras to the park shelter, increasing police patrols and reaching out to alcohol retailers in the area in an effort to limit the availability of alcohol.

Cieslewicz said last week that after implementing most of the plan, the park is "a world away from where it was a year ago."

"I've received extremely positive feedback from neighbors, police, parks staff and park users," he said.

Bradley Wilson and Cieslewicz attributed the improvements to a number of factors, including turning off the power and closing the bathrooms except when a group has rented the shelter, adding police bike and foot patrols in the park, and organizing meetings among city officials, neighbors, homeless service providers and the homeless themselves.

Laura Whitmore, the parks division community relations coordinator, said that for the first time this year, parks officials assigned a ranger to handle just Brittingham and other Downtown parks. Officials also have been trying to encourage legitimate activities in the park, such as ultimate Frisbee leagues.

Problems at Brittingham Park became a focus of attention after the fatal stabbing in January of Joel Marino on West Shore Drive raised fears generally about safety in the neighborhood. Police never specifically identified the homeless as a target of their investigation, however, and ultimately 20-year-old former UW-Madison student Adam Peterson was charged in the killing.

-- Chris Rickert

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