Douglas Park

hoodwinked

Does anyone know what is going on in there lately?

i took my 2 year old down there earlier and its a state,

• one of the baby swings has been taken,
  
• the basket swing has also been taken away,
• most bizarre yet the metal see-saw has been sawn in half (with half taken)leaving a sharp (and dangerous) edged metal bar
• the seat under the pirate ship has been burned so badly that the children can't touch it nevermind sit on it.
• there was rubbish strewn EVERYWHERE around it.
• the local teenagers had their names/foul language/sexual innuendo and images scrawled all over all the play area's

now i know graffiti has always been an issue and its bad enough they took the lovely colourful wooden play area and replaced with something metallic and cold but now even this is being destroyed to make it an eyesore.

its the only park we have for the massive area's of Douglas/Grange/Frankfield/Maryborough/Rochestown and surrounds why does it have to be destroyed?

and does anyone know why nothing is being done about the safety in the place now?

two wheels good

That's terrible news, so depressing. It's such a popular playground. I'll be visiting tomorrow morning. There will be a lot of disappointed kids - and angry parents - if it has to be closed pending repair.

Notices say the park gates are now being locked each night. The gates to the playground used to be locked too. Not that they will stop a determined vandal.

The_Banker

I bring my 15 month old down there and to say I am disappointed is an understatement. This vandalism is being caused by stupid teenagers. Not sure if there is a solution to the vandalism but there is a way to get this issue fixed quickly.

Harrass your local Fianna Fail councillor. No point getting onto FG and Lab. The FFers are keen to get rid of their tarnished image and are more anxious to help people to try and get into the good books of the voters again.

Ill certainly be writing to the FF councillors to try and get this sorted.

2mature

I work security in the region and every friday Saturday and sunday night is chaos with teenagers fighting getting drunk and littering everywhere, constant phone calls to the guards etc.. but nothing being done...when 22.15 comes and the gates of the park are closed the gangs just wonder between the shopping centre and kc's !!

Shame, twas a lovely area not too long ago

hoodwinked

i understand teenagers do cause a lot of the vandalism and graffiti and other problems there, that has always been the case but i don't think they are responsible for the missing equipment,

but how would they remove half of a metal seesaw? :eek: and what teenager would be walking around with the tools needed to do so?

two wheels good

Not as bad as I feared.
The playground was open and in use by a happy mob of kids. The Community Assoc has removed three damaged swings, a broken and burnt play-seat and half a see-saw. There is a rough edge on the other half of the see-saw that needs to be dealt with.

The litter has been collected - probably by the Tidy Towns crew or else the Community Assoc.

So don't be deterred - it's still a pleasant oasis in the heart of gridlock

curly from cork

If you are in a position to travel an extra 10 mins in a car Carrigaline playground is worth a visit.

hoodwinked

two wheels good wrote: »

Not as bad as I feared.
The playground was open and in use by a happy mob of kids. The Community Assoc has removed three damaged swings, a broken and burnt play-seat and half a see-saw. There is a rough edge on the other half of the see-saw that needs to be dealt with.

The litter has been collected - probably by the Tidy Towns crew or else the Community Assoc.

So don't be deterred - it's still a pleasant oasis in the heart of gridlock

i would not call it pleasant to be fair...


3 out the four swing have been removed? :eek: it was only two the other day, by the way the see-saw was left as dangerous as it is i doubt the community assoc or tidy towns did it, would they not then be liable for leaving sharp steel exposed in a childrens play area?

curly from cork wrote: »

If you are in a position to travel an extra 10 mins in a car Carrigaline playground is worth a visit.

went down there this morning and had a great time!

charlemont

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRtDLe9hjtk

I see this man has taken to drinking in the Douglas area recently, So don't be too hasty in blaming the teens !! He is worse for trouble than any teen.

two wheels good

hoodwinked wrote: »

i would not call it pleasant to be fair...

3 out the four swing have been removed? :eek: it was only two the other day, by the way the see-saw was left as dangerous as it is i doubt the community assoc or tidy towns did it, would they not then be liable for leaving sharp steel exposed in a childrens play area?

I don't know if the council or Community Assoc looks after the playground - the council I suspect. Give them both a call re. your concerns about the rough edges on the see-saw. The Comm Assoc people seem very obliging.

But really the park was as pleasant as usual this morning and the playground was still being enjoyed by the kids - even if there were few than usual.

(BTW If you're on to the council could you mention the new road sign at Centra, opp. Barry's that a danger to pedestrians)

Cool_CM

charlemont wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRtDLe9hjtk

I see this man has taken to drinking in the Douglas area recently, So don't be too hasty in blaming the teens !! He is worse for trouble than any teen.

Jerry the bus driver?

charlemont

Cool_CM wrote: »

Jerry the bus driver?

Yea Jerry is his name. Was he a bus driver ??? Ha Ha Ha He is well known around the place, What a character. He is originally from Bandon.

The_Banker

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/playground-robbers-irelands-meanest-thieves-3025316.html

Article about thieves stealing playground equipment to sell as scrap metal.

dory

hoodwinked wrote: »

[*]the basket swing has also been taken away,

I'd been looking for that! :mad: When the zip lines goes missing I'm going to go a-protesting. The place is being ruined.

two wheels good

Two new illuminated bollards at the far entrance, near shopping centre, lasted four days before being kicked over.

The other vandalised playground equipment wasn't taken for scrap in this case. The broken bits were left behind and are in the Community centre - so just pointless vandalism.

wideangle

The vandalism started once the opening times changed,open till 10pm Monday to Friday,just close earlier till the evening's are brighter.

hoodwinked

So i see Douglas park is finally getting a bit of attention, new outdoor gym equipment is going in there,


at the very least it adds a splash of colour to the park, although you'd expect the children's area to do that instead?!?

but i am worried about the huge concrete slabs underneath them, surely the soft flooring like the play area has would have been better? i am struggling to remember what carrigaline park did with theirs but i don't think it was huge slabs of concrete?

why do the council insist on making the park look rougher?

maybe i just complain too much, but it seems from even the old posts above that no thought goes behind these incentives.

this is the image i saw on the Douglas post page:

mik_da_man

Carrigaline are concrete based also.
They aren't toys/climbing frames.
Meant for adults so it should be fine.

Deer

Did you try Monkstown since it was renovated? Still tiny but enclosed now and there is a gate. I'm finding it handy at the moment with parking and it has all two my boys need. No basket swing but has roundabout, zip wire, swings, slide, toddler slide and climb, see saw and those little cars on springs. Being put off Douglas with all the building / parking. One of my boys starts play school in September and I hope pick up / drop off isn't going to be a pita!

hoodwinked

mik_da_man wrote: »

Carrigaline are concrete based also.
They aren't toys/climbing frames.
Meant for adults so it should be fine.

i didn't mean it for children, i just mean as an adult if you fell off one of those things surely mats would be better to land on than concrete, surely there are other klutsy adults like me out there too

pwurple

Was there a few days ago. Children all over those new bits of equipment, not an adult in sight!

Ludo

pwurple wrote: »

Was there a few days ago. Children all over those new bits of equipment, not an adult in sight!

Do adults ever use those things? Every park ive seen them in has had kids all over them... Never seen an adult on them. Maybe it's just the times I've been in parks though.

hoodwinked

so after all the lovely work done on douglas park (as seen above) i got this lovely photo there last monday:









i am so annoyed as this was the only slide for tall 5 year olds who's feet hit the floor on the smaller ones,

what is it about this park that as soon as they fix one thing another is trashed, also as a side note on the "new amenities" the council love bragging about, with the slide out of action (and as a result nothing else in that piece the children were interested in using- why use steps just to come back down them???) and the two swings/zip line being hogged by teenagers, the kids with nothing else to do flocked to the new gym equipment (as also the basketball/football court still isn't finished/opened)

rovoagho

Looks a bit existentialist to me. /Believe/ in the slide.

-Toppy-

hoodwinked wrote: »

i am so annoyed as this was the only slide for tall 5 year olds who's feet hit the floor on the smaller ones,

what is it about this park that as soon as they fix one thing another is trashed, also as a side note on the "new amenities" the council love bragging about, with the slide out of action (and as a result nothing else in that piece the children were interested in using- why use steps just to come back down them???) and the two swings/zip line being hogged by teenagers, the kids with nothing else to do flocked to the new gym equipment (as also the basketball/football court still isn't finished/opened)

Thats bloody depressing, my son goes to one of the primary schools nearby and it used to be a treat for them to go down with their teachers. At a loss to explain this kind of crap

Dbu

on a different note but on the same site, whats the story with the new centre thats half built and all work stopped for months

Red Nissan

Ludo wrote: »

Do adults ever use those things? Every park ive seen them in has had kids all over them... Never seen an adult on them. Maybe it's just the times I've been in parks though.

Yes adults do use them regularly. Children can be a problem but Douglas Park is marked over 14s only.

We do travel to Ballincollig a bit as well for the walks and the machines, Douglas is grand, but as mentioned, the parking has seen us visit less than we actually attempted.

Some adults in Douglas Park do tell the parents about the age limit.

Karmella

hoodwinked wrote: »

i am so annoyed as this was the only slide for tall 5 year olds who's feet hit the floor on the smaller ones,

what is it about this park that as soon as they fix one thing another is trashed, also as a side note on the "new amenities" the council love bragging about, with the slide out of action (and as a result nothing else in that piece the children were interested in using- why use steps just to come back down them???) and the two swings/zip line being hogged by teenagers, the kids with nothing else to do flocked to the new gym equipment (as also the basketball/football court still isn't finished/opened)

I wonder are they just replacing that section of the slide? Was down there about a month ago and that slide was looking a bit on the worn side and out of shape and I think there was a bit jutting out - my kid was complaining that he was getting hurt on it. Hopefully they'll get it up and running again soon!

hoodwinked

Karmella wrote: »

I wonder are they just replacing that section of the slide? Was down there about a month ago and that slide was looking a bit on the worn side and out of shape and I think there was a bit jutting out - my kid was complaining that he was getting hurt on it. Hopefully they'll get it up and running again soon!

you'd think they would have ordered the replacement part and installed it when they removed the older part, whats left there now is again as dangerous as when they left the sharp metal bar from the see saw sticking out, thats somebody's t-shirt left on the pole btw, if it wasn't there it's a sharp metal pole sticking up out of the ground.

Karmella

hoodwinked wrote: »

you'd think they would have ordered the replacement part and installed it when they removed the older part, whats left there now is again as dangerous as when they left the sharp metal bar from the see saw sticking out, thats somebody's t-shirt left on the pole btw, if it wasn't there it's a sharp metal pole sticking up out of the ground.

Ah sure that would be way too sensible :rolleyes:

rovoagho

What's to say it didn't just break with normal wear and tear then, if it was already on the way out?