A secret footbridge in downtown Springfield takes pedestrians to a beautiful park on the banks of the Connecticut river. The below photos were taken on July 15. To enlarge a photo, click on it, then scroll down and click “see full-size image.” photos by Eesha Williams

The maps that are located all over downtown don't show the bridge. In the below photo of one of the maps, the bridge would be directly below the "you are here" icon.

The secret bridge is by far the fastest way for a pedestrian to get from the Basketball Hall of Fame to the park. The bridge is directly behind Esporta Fitness, which is at 1150 West Columbus Avenue, next door to the hall of fame. The Esporta building has a giant sign on it that says, "LA Fitness," and a small sign that says "Esporta."

From the Amtrak station to the bridge is a one-mile walk.

The bridge is a block from the MGM casino. Experts say 1 percent of Americans are gambling addicts, and that gambling addiction can lead to bankruptcy, incarceration and worse. There's a free bus from the Springfield train station to the casino. There's free public parking on the third floor of the casino's parking garage.

Springfield is home to 154,000 people, 69 percent of whom are people of color. A list of restaurants in Springfield that are owned by African-Americans is at:

www.abbpofma.org/the-black-business-listings

It's easy to find Latino-owned restaurants in Springfield by searching the internet.