The city has blocked off a section of a parking lot at Bush’s Pasture Park for the season to prevent people from sleeping there overnight in their vehicles.The city has put down boulders and a log to block a portion of the parking lot on Southeast Leffelle Street, which drew questions from neighbo rs and on social media. The section was first closed in December, said Jennifer Kellar, the city’s parks and recreation division manager, due to community concerns about abandoned vehicles, car camping and garbage in the lot.  She said it’s not the first time the lot has been closed for the winter, and it’s not atypical to close parking lots at Salem parks due to car camping. The lot will be closed through March, opening around the same time the nearby Phillips’ Field reopens for the spring baseball and softball season, Kellar said.  A map showing the portion of the Bush’s Pasture Park parking lot which will be closed through March. (CITY OF SALEM photo) “The boulders put in place do not restrict or impede access for emergency vehicles or access to the adjacent apartment complex,” Kellar said. “Additionally, there is an alternate road available for both public and private use on the other side of the apartment building.” Ahead of the closure, staff from the Salem Police Department, city Code Enforcement and the parks department removed the cars and RV campers that were parked there. Some had been there for several months, Kellar said. She said she couldn’t provide the exact number of people or vehicles removed ahead of the closure. “A count was not taken, however the lot and all sides of the adjoining streets were filled with vehicles,” Kellar said.  Last January, Salem’s annual Point-in-Time count of people who are homeless in Marion and Polk Counties found a record total of 2,154 people living homeless in the region.Of that total, 953 were living outside of shelters and on the streets in tents, RVs or in their cars. A third of unsheltered homeless people reported that they slept in their car.Service providers say the count was likely higher last year due to a combination of better methodology and rising costs of living driving people into homelessness. The one-time count is widely considered to be of questionable accuracy. People sleeping in their cars are especially hard to find and connect with, according to providers. There are few legal options for free car camping in the city. Church at The Park operates Salem’s Safe Parking Network, which partners with local community spaces, often churches, to give people a place to sleep in their car overnight with a bathroom, trash pick-up and a safety team on-site. There are 30 total parking spots available as of Thursday, Feb. 12, said Church at the Park CEO DJ Vincent in a text to Salem Reporter. There’s a waitlist of 356 for the program, he said. A city photo identifying car campers and abandoned vehicles parking at Bush’s Pasture Park, prior to the section of the lot being closed. (CITY OF SALEM photo) The parking lot in the southeast corner of Bush’s Pasture Park, closed for the winter. (ABBEY MCDONALD/ Salem Reporter) Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251. LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. Fair, accurate, trusted – SUBSCRIBE. The post City blocks off portion of Bush’s Pasture Park lot due to car camping appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less