TULSA, Okla. — River Parks Authority leaders say they've seen a rise in vandalism at their parks.
Now, the authority thinking of closing some facilities or even not replacing broken items.
People with the River Parks Authority explain they want to provide fully functioning “comfort stations” at the parks, but with having a sink damaged twice in one week they are rethinking how they use funding.
Since the start of the year, Parks Superintendent Michael Crumb says they’ve had four sinks and two toilets smashed in addition to broken windows and graffiti. Crumbs explains vandalism used to be isolated to the 17th and Riverside park location but now it is spread out and not just happening at one location.
Below is a photo of the damaged sink in the men’s restroom at 56th and Riverside. It was damaged and replaced last week, then two days later, vandals shattered the sink again.
2 News Oklahoma's Amanda Slee met Garry Hunger while he enjoyed his lunch in the nice outdoor weather. She asked him how he feels hearing about this repeated vandalism.
“Its no respect and people need to understand that they are not just affecting one person. They are affecting a whole lot of people that come and use these facilities,” Hunger said.
Crumb told me River Parks has limited funding and personnel so using them to constantly replace these destroyed items is taking away from other ways they could be making the parks better. He even says this vandalism is an attack on the community since River Parks has to use tax dollars to fix the damage.
Now the agency is considering delaying the replacement of the sink and using the funding for surveillance cameras outside the restroom instead. Something they’ve been wanting to get for some time but haven’t had the funding for.
“Really this string of increased vandalism has kind of forced our hand where we have to find the funds somewhere and get this surveillance video in place so we can address this and not continue to drain the budget,” he said. “It would be worth trying because like I said this park needs to be kept really nice of families and people of Tulsa that can enjoy it,” said Crumb.
The River Parks Authority is asking everyone who visits the parks to stay vigilant and if you see something, say something.
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