River Town Times - April 1, 2020

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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Town trying to curb vandalism at local parks By Ron Giofu Play structures and sports fields have either been fenced off or are just not in use very much but there have been cases of vandalism there during the inactivity. The town fenced off its playground equipment in its parks last week, joining other local municipalities in doing so. The aim is to stop the potential spread of COVID-19. “It was something the parks department was keeping an eye on,” said Mayor Aldo DiCarlo. “We were doing pretty good and people were staying away from it. Then we started getting reports of people on (the equipment).” The mayor said the town doesn’t have the resources to continually sanitize the playground equipment and made a decision to put up signage around the park to try and keep children and parents away from the equipment. When that didn’t work, the fencing went up. DiCarlo said people are not supposed to be gathering during the pandemic and the town didn’t want to encourage that by keeping the equipment open. “No one is supposed to be out there getting together,” he said, believing that children won’t understand that they have to keep at least two metres from one another as part of the recommended physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It wouldn’t be complying to what we’ve been trying to do lately, which is keep people apart,” said DiCarlo. The town is using the same fencing that it purchased, ironically enough, for special events such as Ribfest and other events.

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“When you make an investment like this, the last thing you think you’ll need it for is pandemic support,” the mayor stated. “Investments like this can go a long way when you really need them.” Once the pandemic is lifted, DiCarlo said the real work begins as the playground equipment will be cleaned and sanitized at that point and the fencing will be taken down. “It’s going to be a really big job getting through this and getting over this,” he said of the COVID-19 pandemic. The town doesn’t want to close its playground equipment, he added, but it is a necessary measure at this stage to try and keep people safe. “There is going to be a bit of time when we’re going to have to be patient,” he said. Some people have elected not to be patient, DiCarlo added. “After we put the fencing up, we had some vandalism and we’ve even had some people trying to get around the fencing,” said DiCarlo. “I’m putting a plea out there to people to have the conversations with their children that the town isn’t trying to prevent people from having fun. This is a necessary step.” People can still go for walks in the parks but they can’t have gathering places like playground equipment, he noted, asking people to “respect the fact that no one is supposed to be on them for a reason.” Also closed are sports fields, basketball, tennis and pickleball courts, the skateboard park, other outdoor recreational amentities, picnic areas and picnic shelters. People are urged to maintain physical distancing when walking on trails or pathways.

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Signage is in place as is fencing at all local playgrounds in Amherstburg, including Toddy Jones Park (pictured). Parks are open but the town has fenced off playground equipment at all parks to encourage social distancing and because town staff has not had the opportunity to properly clean and sanitize the equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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