Milwaukee County Trying to Shut Down Pokemon GO At All County Parks

MILWAUKEE -- Officials from the Milwaukee County Parks system are attempting to shut down the popular game Pokemon GO in Historic Lake Park.

In addition, the county is demanding that the creators of Pokemon GO remove all Pokemon GO sites from all county parks in order to comply with area ordinances and permitting.

The County has sent a letter to Niantic, the creators of Pokemon GO, demanding they shut down the game in Lake Park, and re-apply to put Pokestops and Gyms back in the park under the county's "Virtual Geocache" guidelines.

Historic Lake Park, located on Milwaukee's near north side just south of Shorewood, has become a Pokemon Go hotbed, with players flocking to the area. The county calls it one of the most active Pokemon Go areas in the entire midwest.

Its popularity, according to the county, has created a variety of issues, including:

• Daily traffic congestion
• parking issues
• littering
• compacted and damaged turn
• risks to sensitive flora and fauna habitats
• noncompliance with park system operation hours.

The Letter

"The Pokemon phenomenon has introduced hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals to our park system and has resulted in many new positive experiences...However there have been other unanticipated and negative consequences from Pokemon-related activities which have caused significant disruption within Lake Park and in adjacent neighborhoods., wrote Chris Abele, Milwaukee County Executive and John Dargle, Jr. Director of Parks Recreation and Culture.

Although the county is welcoming the creators of Pokemon Go to re-apply for their Pokemon GO sites, the county makes it clear that it's not necessarily a sure thing, and is subjecting the game's creators to physical monitoring requirements if they clear the approval process.

"As noted, should Niantic, Inc., be granted permission to place Pokemon GO sites within any Milwaukee County park, it will thereafter be responsible for regularly monitoring each cache (4 times per year is recommended) and reporting vandalism or deterioration of property."

Photo courtesy of Eduardo Woo via Flickr