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Racist/homophobic graffiti on playground equipment (UPDATED)

'Terrible to see this type of vandalism and hate speech,' tweets mayor
Santana Bellantoni
Santana Bellantoni

Update (June 15): The City of Guelph reports it removed the offensive graffiti two days ago and that they had to do the same things 10 days prior to the most recent incident.

Racist and homophobic words were written in permanent marker across play structures at West End Community Centre park.

Brian Bailey found the graffiti and went to Twitter to express is disappointment with the park.

"This place is disgusting. Just a completely overgrown mess," he said in a video he posted on Twitter. The video shows the graffiti at the park. "You want kids to play here? Really?" he said as the video shows what looks like his child and wife at the playground. 

The City of Guelph responded to his tweet and submitted a service request to remove the graffiti right away.

Mayor Cam Guthrie also replied and wrote, "Terrible to see this type of vandalism and hate speech."

Bailey posted photos of the graffiti as another addition to the park not being well kept. His wife made the city aware of how the park needs weeds trimmed, broken glass removed, she emailed this weeks ago and said she received no response. There was another time he and his wife were at the park and it had been covered in glue. He said the park is rusting and falling apart. 

"It's pretty rough. Considering there is a lot of nice parks in Guelph, it was kind of rundown for what it was," said Bailey in an interview with GuelphToday.

He lives nearby the community centre and when he walked by he noticed the graffiti. He said if there was a lamppost put in where the park is it would light up the area, which is difficult to see from the road.

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Santana Bellantoni

About the Author: Santana Bellantoni

Santana Bellantoni was born and raised in Canada’s capital, Ottawa. As a general assignment reporter for Guelph Today she is looking to discover the communities, citizens and quirks that make Guelph a vibrant city.
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