Parks are an important part of any community. They provide a welcome space for friends and family to gather. A welcome space for events like birthdays or picnics. A welcome space to get your kids out of the house. A welcome place for memories. I would be willing to bet some of your favorite memories from childhood, your teen years, or even watching children and grandchildren grow up were at a park.
However, recently, the parks of Mesquite have begun feeling like unwelcome spaces. Litter and pollution, broken equipment, vandalized equipment, and entirely unlit parks. Take Marilyn Redd Park, for example. The playground has seen much better days. Missing pieces in the play panels, a missing step, cracks and divots in the flooring, and an inappropriate gesture scribbled over the sign language board. The rest of the grounds aren’t safe either. A missing volleyball net, which effectively turns part of the park into a sand pit (which it already has), litter, and only two working water fountains. Similarly, Desert Rose Park could use a tune-up. A broken chair on the jungle gym, loose chains not attached to anything, a huge hole in the flooring, a broken water fountain, and a scary, creaking swing set.
One of the parks that is better maintained is the Sports and Event Complex. The Sports Complex is used frequently for many sporting events, which might be the only reason it is maintained. Akin to this, Pioneer Park’s playground was entirely redone recently, Pioneer Park being home to many baseball tournaments. Even so, the Sport Complex’s splash pad has been broken for years. It seems the City of Mesquite is content to leave the parks and memories of Mesquite in ruin.
Dane Macias
