Rusty, broken and boarded up playground equipment: An Action News Jax Investigation found dozens of unresolved complaints about Jacksonville public parks.
Action News Jax looked through the status of every park complaint so far this year and found safety concerns for local families.
Ann Tyson brings her kids to public parks three times a week.
“It’s something for the kids to do, you know, run around, interact, have fun,” said Tyson.
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She said she’s disappointed in the condition of Woodstock Park.
“I grew up around the corner. When I grew up here, it was better than this,” said Tyson.
In February, a grandmother reported to the city that a slide in Woodstock Park was broken.
It appears the city removed the broken slide, but the opening at the top is not boarded up.
If a child fell out, it would be more than a 5-foot drop to the ground.
Action News Jax reported it to the city.
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At Whitehouse Park, a slide has been boarded up. The railing rusted away around the bolts, pulling away from the top of the slide.
In Ringhaver Park, a trail boardwalk is chained and boarded up.
Last month, city crews came out to fix broken playground equipment at Oceanway Park after Action News Jax started asking questions.
So we started asking questions about all city parks.
So far this year, there have been about 400 complaints to the city of Jacksonville about its parks.
According to the city, it’s resolved almost 90 percent of them.
City records indicate there are still 45 open issues.
Action News Jax mapped them out and found this isn’t isolated to just one part of town; the problems are citywide.
Park safety matters. In October 2017, 3-year-old Amari Harley died after falling into a septic tank at Bruce Park.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office case file revealed the rubber septic tank lids there were unlocked.
The most common unresolved complaint at Jacksonville parks is lighting.
Of the 45 open complaints, 15 are about lights being out.
If you've got a complaint at a Jacksonville public park, you can report it here.
RELATED: City employees show up to work on playground hours after Action News Jax questions its safety | 'Rust everywhere:' Jacksonville mom concerned about conditions at park | Car break-ins at local park concern residents
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