It’s a problem that’s been growing all summer in Legacy Park in Lethbridge.
After making several complaints to the city about weeds, like foxtail and thistle, Connie Moch, along with some other park users, decided to do some gardening.
“We started bagging them and by the time we were done that area and the areas over there that we were picking… we had over 17 bags of weeds and suckers,” Moch said.
Chris Witkowski, the parks planning manager for the City of Lethbridge, said weeds are an issue in the park’s shrub beds and it’s challenging for city workers to keep up.
“We’ve been hearing quite a bit of feedback on the shrub beds from the residents,” Witkowski said.
“Last week, city council allocated some more money for us this year to be able to devote some more resources to shrub bed cleanup, so we’re just about ready to kick that off.”
But weeds aren’t Moch’s only concern.
She said the park’s trees aren’t getting enough water.
“We can make it look nice, but it’s only going to stay that way so long before they start dying because they have no water,” Moch said.
“We can only do so much.
“I don’t know how many trees have been pulled out because they’re dead and they’ve replanted them.”
Witkowski said this summer’s heat has been an issue for many of the city’s parks.
On top of the weather, Legacy Park also has irrigation issues dating back to its construction.
According to Witkowski, only 25 per cent of the park’s irrigation is working at full capacity, but the city will begin using a truck to water the trees.
“That is getting going this week, so we are going to see some increased watering and that is primarily devoted to (Legacy) Park,” Witkowski said.
The city is also looking at a future volunteer program to help clean up park shrub beds.
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