Parks should be safe, recreational places to take our children, but is this the case in Ladysmith?
Many residents are concerned about the state of our local parks, complaining about overgrown grass and litter thrown everywhere. Let alone play facilities that are broken and haven’t been fixed or replaced in months. The park in Bengal Road is one example of this kind of neglect.
The grass is overgrown, broken glass is everywhere and there are no swings, as they are all broken and have not been replaced.
Over the weekend, Mr Strydom decided to take his young cousins to Christopher Park in Francis Road to let them play and have fun, while he intended to relax. But he was shocked at how filthy the park was, with discarded food containers, cool drink bottles and broken glass all over the place.
“This is an eyesore and dangerous as well! What if a child is barefoot and steps onto a shard of glass? Who will pay the hospital bill?” fumes Mr Strydom.
A Gazette journalist paid a visit to the park on Tuesday and it had been cleared up.
Mr Strydom is adamant that municipal parks should be properly maintained throughout the year, and that the swings, jungle gyms and merry-go-rounds should be promptly fixed if they break.
“If the facilities cannot be fixed straight away, then they should be taped off so people can see they’re not operational,” he adds.
At the time of going to press, the municipality had not commented.
