The men's section of the newly opened accessible washroom building at the Community Park will now be closed indefinitely. (Megan Gibson).

By Ian Holmes

senseless vandalism

‘It’s just malicious:’ Parksville’s mayor enraged with ongoing Community Park vandalism

Apr 4, 2024 | 1:36 PM

PARKSVILLE — A newly opened accessible washroom building on Parkville’s waterfront was damaged to the tune of $6,000.

It happened sometime on the afternoon of Sunday, March 31, with Parksville Mayor Doug O’Brien stating the damage is immense.

“The separator walls in between the urinals and toilets in the men’s washroom were actually ripped off the wall, the soap dispensers were ripped out and destroyed. It’s just malicious damage, which is just so frustrating,” O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Newly installed vandalism-resistant hardware destroyed during the incident won’t be a quick-fix, O’brien noted.

Specially made, custom-ordered items are required.

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“It takes a while to get these fixtures in to be replaced, it’s going to make at least the men’s section of the washroom unusable for a number of weeks.”

In addition, O’Brien said in a separate incident later the same day resulted in extensive spray paint taggings to the building’s exterior.

The incidents were reported to Oceanside RCMP.

In an effort to reduce vandalism, the City of Parksville closes both washroom buildings in the Community Park daily at 7 p.m.

Parksvillle Mayor Doug O’Brien hopes the public can help curb vandalism at the Community Park. (Submitted photo)

O’Brien said damage to the new washroom facility was clearly not done by members of the uhnoused community, stating the acts profile as a case of delinquency type behaviour.

Several cases of what O’Brien calls “senseless and damaging”vandalism have inflicted the Community Park in recent months.

Incidents of damaged sections of grass in the park from e-bikes have been documented, as was the theft of a newly planted mature Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry, valued at $1,000.

The tree has since been replaced.

“Someone has got a brand new tree, it’s a very specific tree that our arborist’s chose specifically for this spot and they just ripped it out of the ground. This is not okay,” O’Brien said.

With private security monitoring the park when it’s closed, O’Brien hopes the public bands together to help protect their crown jewel of a waterfront park.

“Eyes and ears in the community is probably the best asset we have to prevent senseless vandalism.”

Vastly improving the Community Park has been a priority of the City of Parksville in recent years, with the most recent project featuring a new public gathering plaza and accessible washroom building.

A new entertainment stage opened last year.

An estimated 1.5 million people visit the Community Park annually.

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