TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Santa Rita Park on Tucson's south side is usually a hive of activity for the city's homeless population, but today the park grounds are taped off and empty.
The City has cleared the park for painting, cleaning and overall maintenance.
Santa Rita is set to reopen Friday at 3 p.m.
In the meantime, community leaders like Brian Flagg shared how he felt about the closure.
“I'm worried there's going to be more people in everybody's alley,” said Flagg.
Flagg described this concern as a bigger issue, with a short closure having potentially big impacts.
"It's really a quality of life issue that needs to be dealt with," said Flagg. "The injustice of the housing industry having totally their way and making huge amounts of money at the expense of people who have to live in neighborhoods with legions of unhoused people.”
Two days before the closure, KGUN9 visited Santa Rita Park and spoke with unhoused people about where they're going to go.
“We would just wander try to find a place. It's not getting rid of the issue,” said Chris Amado. “I really hope we can come to some sort of solution, you know, people that are just having a hard time right now. And the police, hopefully nothing bad comes of this when they crack down which I believe will be tomorrow or two days by the last day.”
The City of Tucson provided a statement:
The 1.5 day maintenance closure of Santa Rita Park is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the park remains a safe and welcoming space for all visitors. In preparation for this closure, we have been conducting extensive outreach to inform our houseless community members about the cleaning and services available to them. City of Tucson outreach teams have been on the ground for the past two weeks, working closely with individuals at the park to ensure they are aware of the closure and the support services available to them. During this time, our Parks and Recreation staff will be focusing on essential maintenance tasks, including cleaning and repainting restrooms, benches, and tables, as well as cleaning sidewalks, edging grass areas, and de-littering the entire park. This annual maintenance allows us to address any issues promptly and ensure the park is ready to reopen as soon as possible, but also to complete the work without worrying about close public proximity to the work being performed.
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