LAFAYETTE, L.a. — Complaints of foul-smelling, dirty restrooms without soap and with minimal, if any, toilet paper are coming from Lafayette's public park-goers.
Hailey Meche, who goes to Girard Park frequently with her dog, said it's not just this park with cleanliness issues.
"If I can hold it, I will," Meche said. "Kind of like a last resort kind of thing here."
Some parents at the park agree and told KATC they depended on parks for safe fun throughout the pandemic.
"I don't think it's right, it just, I mean, I don't want to go in there and come on out and touch my baby and give her something," said Westley Hebert, who stopped by the park with his family on Tuesday.
Jared Price is a Lafayette resident who enjoys visiting Girard Park. He said that his family was celebrating a birthday event this weekend, but when it was time to use the restroom, the conditions were so bad, he had to snap a picture.
"Some of my family members had to go to the local gas station or simply went to our — their homes," Price said. "Which is not too far, but obviously you don't want to go home and then come back to the park."
Lafayette Consolidated Government's Director of Parks and Recreation Hollis Conway told KATC he understands the public's frustration, but it's hard to keep up with because it only takes one person to mess up the bathrooms for everyone.
"We're going to be publishing our park maintenance plans so everyone will know when our bathrooms are being cleaned, when our grass is being cut," Conway said. "Also, we're going to be placing some communication out on our facilities, so if someone uses our facilities between the time it's being cleaned, to be able to contact us."
Conway noted that he asks the public to be patient with LCG and Parks and Recreation, as they recognize a lot of improvements still have to be made — but he said the best way to help fix this for the future is to say something if you see something.
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