Westside parkgoers surprised over tree vandalism

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On Friday, a Westside park was affected by vandalism. Visitors over the last few days might have noticed multiple missing and damaged trees while enjoying Lawrence Park.

Some daily parkgoers, like Vanessa Ybarra, tell me they’re unsure about why someone would damage several trees at Lawrence Park, 6777 S. Mark Road. Half of the damaged trees needed to be cut down to stumps because of what happened.

“It’s sad because usually the guys here keep it nice and it’s very calm and safe," Ybarra said.

Ybarra says she runs at Lawrence Park daily and adds that she's never noticed anything suspicious. Maintenance crews are on-site at parks until the early afternoon, making relationships with those who frequent it.

“I have to be aware now of my surroundings," said Ybarra.

Callie Norton, community engagement coordinator for Pima County Parks and Recreation, says six trees in the eastern parking lot were damaged.

Pima County Parks and Recreation

“It appears that they used their body weight to break off a lot of the branches and even completely remove some of the trees," Norton said.

Maintenance crews saved half of the trees by trimming off broken branches. The other half was trimmed down to stumps and will be replaced.

Jacqueline Aguilar | KGUN 9

“Once our park crews leave after their shifts, we don’t have a lot of eyes on what’s going on here in the evenings," said Norton. "So, we really appreciate it when constituents can kind of serve as our eyes and ears out at our parks when they aren’t staffed.”

Ybarra says she enjoys exercising at Lawrence Park and appreciates the maintenance crew's hustle in fixing the damage.

“This is basically your backyard, so you wouldn’t want somebody to vandalize your home," said Ybarra. "This is like your home, so treat it like your home and have respect even for the trees.”