The District of New Hazelton has closed and locked the public bathrooms at Allen Park.
Public Works Superintendent, Allan Berg said a few people have ruined it for everyone.
“As soon as the bathrooms are open, kids go in and plug up the toilets with grass and rocks. They scatter the paper towels around and do other nasty things like smear feces around,” explained Berg.
“So we close them and give it a bit of time and hope it solves itself but it never does. As soon as they are open, it is like a magnet, they know it’s open and they go down there and do it again.”
The bathrooms were opened from early morning until late evening.
They are closed now unless there is a special event happening.
The district owns and maintains them so residents and tourists can use them while enjoying the park.
Berg said it is a continuing cycle that he hopes stops soon.
“We hope these kids grow up but it seems like it’s one batch after another. We’ve thought about taking measures like setting up a security camera but we don’t think that will help.”
Berg said they are also dealing with ongoing vandalism at the skate park. He said people have been writing obscenities on the ramps and the park is often covered in graffiti.
There is also a problem with garbage. Berg said there are garbage cans in the skate park so people have no excuse not to use them.
Berg said for now, the skate park is still open but the district is asking those who use it and vandalize it to start respecting the site.
