The City of Windsor says it’s battling a growing wave of vandalism at parks across the community, with officials calling on residents to help protect public spaces.
The latest incident occurred at Alton C. Parker Park, where a playground was spray painted with a racial slur. The downtown park is named after Alton C. Parker, the first Black officer on the Windsor Police Service and Canada’s first Black detective.
That incident is the latest in a string of costly incidents across the city. Washrooms at Lanspeary Park were recently vandalized, while a deliberately set fire destroyed part of the playground at Parent Park earlier this month, causing an estimated $200,000 in damage.
Meanwhile, the vandalisms come as the city is in the middle of replacing 36 aging playgrounds.
Michael Chantler, the city’s Commissioner of Community Services, says the damage has become a daily challenge for city crews across the local 200 parks.
“It’s gotten to the point where these are infuriating situations. Individuals are going out there, and they’re vandalizing; they’re spraying graffiti; they’re just senseless destruction of public property. And we’d really like to catch some of these folks that are doing this kind of damage. At the same time, it’s very difficult to prevent it when you have as many assets as we have.”
He says while some city parks do have surveillance cameras, it’s impossible to monitor every amenity, and it’s not always feasible.
“When you think of the vandalism that’s going on though, I mean, it’s outdoor pools, it’s washrooms, benches, monuments, garbage’s that are constantly getting tipped over, graffiti on whatever surface they can spray it on, plants and trees that get completely ripped out of the ground; it’s not any one thing, and it makes it very difficult for us.”
He says residents are being encouraged to report vandalism immediately.
“A lot of it goes unreported until our staff are in there and they’re whipper snipping and they’re cutting and they see something, and then we have to take care of it. So I just encourage people, use the 311 app or call 311. And if something really bad is going on, obviously report that to Windsor Police right away.”
Chantler says while the city won’t have the exact number of vandalisms reported in 2026 until the end of the year, he states that over the last five years, the incidents have drastically increased, with the city receiving calls for vandalism every single day.
The city has over 200 local parks spanning approximately 2,537 acres of green space.