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Arroyo Grande closing public restrooms, rampant vandalism

May 14, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

In a response to rampant vandalism in city owned restrooms, Arroyo Grande will begin closing some facilities for 13 hours a day, the city announced on Friday.

Effective immediately, city staff will lock the doors to the Heritage Square Park restrooms from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. daily. Repeated and significant destruction and vandalism prompted the city to take action.

At this time, the restrooms at Ash Street will remain open. However, if the level of vandalism continues to escalate those facilities could also face closures.

City staff is asking anyone who witnesses vandalism or suspicious behavior near the restrooms or any public facility to contact law enforcement.


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Without real consequences for this illegal behavior all closing the restrooms will do is force the vandals to other places to commit their destruction, such as other items in the park or private businesses near by. Wasn’t the park recently designated as one of the locations for overnight parking?, so where are those parking supposed to go, as mentioned likely just other non-designated locations. Perhaps this was the cities intent, when the city issued their map designating locations through out the city for overnight parking, they knew they couldn’t leave out the village area, even though they wanted too, so they pick the park knowing a short time later they would issue a notice closing the park restrooms, and then next comes the notice from the city to remove the park from the designated area because of the closed restrooms and they have achieved their goal, no homeless issues in the village.


3

It is not a good idea to close the public restrooms because other public place will become the new option, as in San Francisco.


-3

2 reasons this is done… Read the comments and you’ll find your answer. Someone thinks it’s funny to fire up the locals and older folks who get triggered by these acts of malice. Typically it’s a teenager or younger guy. They could give 2 s*** about the property damage, it’s all about the reaction.


Or it’s a transient with mental and or substance issues.


3

My Dad always said vandalism should get 10 times the penalty of theft. Thieves steal things because they want them, vandals destroy things because they don’t want others to have them.


26

I really do not get this mindset at all. Do people not like having access to clean public bathrooms? Are they so eager to go back to the days of sh×÷=ing in the streets? Its such a self defeating, STUPID act.


20

There is no real punishment when the vandals are caught. They get a vigorous wag of the judge’s finger, told to behave, then allowed to wander off with zero repercussion for their deed.


Wreck a restroom? Stay locked inside it for a week.


Graffiti a wall, sign, window, car, bridge, etc? Under armed supervision, made to clean tens of thousands of square feet of graffiti damaged surfaces.


Maliciously break something that is not yours? You get all your things broken.


Solutions to these problems are easy. Getting soft judges and prosecutors to enforce punishment, is as easy as voting in judges and prosecutors that will uphold the law abiding society, rather than the dregs of society.


31

“Wreck a restroom? Stay locked inside it for a week.

Graffiti a wall, clean

Maliciously break something that is not yours? You get all your things broken.”


Only if their parents join them, because this is not some judges fault.


9

Time for cameras?


14