Drug Hotspot

Syringe Found: Should This Playground Be Closed?

Neighbors report open drug use, excessive drinking, and nearly daily police interventions.(Bild: rm, Krone KREATIV)

Used syringes at the children’s playground, drug use in broad daylight, excessive drinking, and noise late into the night: The situation at GWG Park is coming to a head. Neighbors report nearly daily police interventions. VP City Council Vice Chair Martin Hajart is now calling for drastic action: the playground should be temporarily closed.

One resident told the “Krone” that the police have to be called almost every day—sometimes as late as the early morning hours. The nuisance is particularly severe on hot days: Because of the noise, residents can’t even crack their windows open at night.

A nighttime closure as well?
“If even used syringes are now being found at the playground, the children’s safety is acutely endangered,” Hajart says, having had enough. The playground must remain closed until safe conditions prevail there again. He is also putting a nighttime closure of the park up for discussion.

“That would be a step backward for the city”
The deputy mayor does not view the GWG Park as an isolated case. Following the problems around the main train station, Volksgarten, and southern Landstraße, he warns of a “wildfire”: “One park after another is falling apart.” FP City Councilor for Public Safety Michael Raml confirms the complaints and points to increased patrols by the public order service as well as discussions with the police, Volkshilfe, and B37. However, he rejects closing the playground: “That would mean the city is backing down in the face of drug-related crime.”