An increasing level of anti-social behaviour in the People’s Park has prompted one local Councillor to seek the redeployment Council workers from traffic counts to patrolling the popular public facility.
Cllr Mary Roche said thousands of euros worth of damage had been caused in the Park in recent months and expressed concern that the level of anti-social behaviour was only going to get worse. She called on the Council to deploy staff to patrol the park on a regular basis, as a deterrent.
“I often see six or seven Council staff out doing traffic counts. These would be far better utilised in the Park in the coming months”, she told the June meeting of the Metropolitan District,
Cllr Roche also sought a long-term plan for the park from the Council’s Environment Department. “The Parks and Open Spaces team do an excellent job in cleaning and maintaining the Park but they can’t monitor it as well”, she added.
Cllr Roche said the swings had been missing from the park since last January, while the nest swing was gone a lot longer.
Senior Engineer Ray Mannix told the meeting that the swings had been removed because they had been vandalised and were dangerous. The Council has received quotations to replace them and is currently awaiting a tendering process.
“A lot of the serious damage is being done at night, making it difficult to manage. CCTV would help but it is expensive”, he noted.
Cllr John Hearne said a similar problem of anti-social behaviour was arising at the New Street Gardens and called on the Council to get an overview of the situation.
