One sunny afternoon, while my wife and I were taking our newborn daughter for a walk, we stumbled upon a situation that no family should have to face. Just a few feet away from us in Pan Pacific Park, someone was openly smoking fentanyl, right by one of the children's playgrounds. Given how toxic even a small amount of this drug can be, this is a real risk to anyone even in proximity to it. And yet this is a reality not just at Pan Pacific, but at every single park that the city oversees. We have tried years of "harm reduction" and mental health teams going to the parks and offering support. It is mostly refused, as people in the throes of addiction and mental illness are unable to make even basic choices.

It is time to abandon these well-intentioned but ineffective policies. We need to police the parks, and enforce the laws that we have on the books. It starts with the City Council, which has no problem voting for pay increases for the police, but shrinks at the thought of pressuring them to enforce the law. 

We can be empathetic to the plight of addicts and the mentally ill- but we cannot simply allow them to control our public spaces. 

Los Angeles is home to nearly four million residents, with around 60% living in apartments, with limited access to personal outdoor spaces. Public parks should provide a refuge, a place where families can gather, children can play, and individuals can enjoy the outdoors without fear. Yet, the reality is starkly different when these parks become havens for drug use and vagrancy.

New York City has successfully managed to police Central Park, maintaining it as a safe and welcoming environment for all its visitors. Los Angeles can and should follow suit by enforcing existing laws more rigorously and implementing a zero-tolerance policy for drug use and vagrancy in public parks. 

The City of Los Angeles must commit to actionable steps that include increasing patrols in high-traffic parks, collaborating with social services to offer assistance to those in need, and maintaining a consistent enforcement of park regulations. As residents, we should feel confident that our public spaces are being actively monitored and well-maintained.

Join us in demanding the city of Los Angeles to enforce its park laws and protect our public spaces. Sign this petition and help restore our parks to the safe, welcoming environments they are meant to be.