Urban decay ruins Baxter Park

BAXTER Park, situated between Baxter Place and Campbell Road on Clark Road has for many years been a sight for sore eyes for those living and working on the Berea. Home to vagrants, drug dealers and prostitutes, the park is an extreme example of urban decay in Glenwood.

NEWLY elected ward councillor, Nicole Graham, is on a mission to find a solution to the rot that has destroyed Baxter Park in Glenwood. The park, which is being held up as an example of urban decay, has been a topic of concern for Glenwood residents for a number of years. Now, in a bid to ascertain its future, Graham has called a public meeting for Tuesday, 19 November to discuss what the best course of action is for the park.

“Since I’ve taken office I’ve become aware that the park is of huge concern to the community and businesses in the area. People have contacted me about regular weekend fighting, drug related issues and prostitution. The Parks and Recreation department say police need to keep criminal elements out of the park, but we need to get to the bottom of it,” she said.

The park, which doubles as a voting station during elections and voter registration campaigns, has become more than a disgrace. “Vagrants use the voting station tent to sleep in and also use the portaloos. During the ward by-election in September, police had to remove a woman who was flashing voters,” said Graham. She plans to have all role players and department officials at the meeting together with concerned community members in a bid to look at a way forward for the park.

Zaahira Griffiths, a resident of Baxter Place pulled no punches, saying she is embarrassed to call the area home. “We have a group of squatters living and selling drugs in the park. Residents are aware of the three brothels across from the park. Prostitutes sit at the park the whole day trying to pick up clients which affects all the children in the area who cannot even dream about enjoying the park,” she said adding that children had not frequented the park for at least three years since the swings and other equpment were removed because they had been vandalised.

“Prostitutes even sleep with clients in the park and not only at night. It has become a red light district,” she said. “This past Saturday, at 10am in broad daylight, I looked out of the window and saw a woman pull down her panties and a man was there waiting to have sex. It is disgusting, but also shows these prostitutes are drugged because no woman in their right mind would do that in broad daylight!”

Griffiths said years of contacting police and municipal officials to do something about the illicit activities in the park had proved futile. She hoped the meeting would see the “park” removed. “We would like for them to fence the park off completely because it is not a park. Children and residents cannot go there. The community don’t sleep at night because of the constant fighting and screaming emanating from the drunk and drugged people who live there,” she said.

The meeting will be held at Baxter Park at 5.30pm on Tuesday, 19 November. Contact Nicole on 083 616 1936 for more information or email ward33@ethekwini.org