ST. LOUIS — One of St. Louis’ oldest parks temporarily closed Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Alderman John Collins-Muhammad was driving through O’Fallon Park, and what he saw was unsettling.
"Kids climbing on top of pavilions, climbing on top of the boathouse. There were just beer bottles and cigarettes everywhere, people driving through speeding through the park,” he described.
Collins-Muhammad said he saw at least three car accidents and several noticeable drug deals.
“And I was only here for about an hour and I’ve seen everything within this hour time span,” he said. “I can only imagine what happened after I left. Someone could have died that night. We could have seen more drug transactions again and again and again.”
So, on Wednesday night around 9 P.M., Collins-Muhammad made the decision to close the park. St. Louis Police blocked off all entrances for about 14 hours. Collins-Muhammad said he is talking to St. Louis Police and the Parks and Recreation Department to create consistent patrol rotations and step up security morning, afternoon and night.
The City is investing $1.2 million in a two-year beautification project. This includes renovating the boathouse and re-instituting boating on the lake.
"I want the residents to know, it's a priority for the city, but it also has to be a priority for you as well,” Collins-Muhammad said.
