The PCP is against the dismantling of a «considerable set» of playgrounds in the city of Faro and says that the reasons given – lack of security and vandalism – are “mere excuses”.
According to "Warward" newspaper, which cites a letter from the Sports Spaces and Facilities Unit, Sports and Youth Division of the Municipality of Faro, the objective is to dismantle 17 of the 39 parks in the municipality.
In recent statements to journalists, Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Chamber of Faro, said that vandalism is the reason that leads to this decision.
«We are analyzing the playgrounds and we are going to take down a considerable number. In 2019, we spent 250 thousand euros to recover playgrounds and in one, two months they were the same. In one case, at the end of the day, it was vandalized again”, he explained.
In those same statements, the mayor said that the objective is to have “two, three parks of some size”, namely in Jardim do Alameda which, according to Rogério Bacalhau, is about to open or in Fórum Algarve.
The arguments do not convince the PCP, which says that the «lack of security and constant vandalism are mere excuses to justify the progressive disinvestment and abandonment to which the City Council has voted these and other public facilities and spaces in the county».
«In the same way, the proposed solution of creating and concentrating large-scale playgrounds in specific locations, demonstrates the mercantile and economicist perspective of the municipality in relation to the subject, in contrast to the importance of proximity solutions and the joint responsibility of municipal authorities and police, with the participation of the communities of residents and users, in the mitigation of security problems and vandalism», defend the communists.
For the PCP, «children's playgrounds, as well as any public leisure space, are fundamental elements for a healthy and democratic experience in any locality».
“In a municipality where not all parishes have a playground, as is the case of Santa Bárbara de Nexe, this decision-making is incomprehensible and unacceptable”, says the political party.
Moreover, the PCP has already asked the president of the Municipal Assembly “to arrange with the mayor to disclose the plan in question to the members of that assembly”.
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