A new trail in Osceola County is being vandalized and it hasn’t even officially opened yet. Kissimmee leaders hope to keep the park graffiti-free once it opens.
- Shingle Creek Regional Trail opens officially this summer
- Graffiti and litter is showing up in parts that are off-limits
- Park's contractor has to clean up the mess
Abner Gonzalez takes a walk on the Shingle Creek Regional Trail daily. He can’t wait until the trail links Kissimmee to Orange, Seminole and Lake counties.
“I think it’s a beautiful park, it’s good for family members to come and walk every day,” Gonzalez said.
The park is being built in phases so parts of it are off-limits. However, people have gone on property to vandalize and litter.
This is why some residents say the park has gone from beautiful to ugly.
“I don’t feel safe here,” said Buffalo Bob, who bikes on the trail. “Bottom line, I just don’t feel all that safe.”
Residents took their concerns to social media when obscene and derogatory images were spray painted on the bridge.
The mayor of Kissimmee, Jim Swan, said additional security will be implemented once the park opens.
“We will probably have some additional law enforcement patrols there on our side,” Swan said. “And the county probably will have some additional law enforcement officers on their side of the creek also,” Swan said. “Right now it’s not ours. It’s not the county’s and so we don’t have a ton of folks out there.”
For now, the contractor is responsible for cleaning up this mess -- that is, until the trail is officially handed over to the city and county.
“This is home to us, you know? And they live here too, this is their park too. I don’t know why they’re messing it up. They should take care of it, if anything,” Gonzalez said.
Part of the trail is set to open over the summer. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate it.