A popular area for visitors to Kinsmen Park and downtown Strathmore will remain closed due to vandalism. The South Kinsmen Parking lot was briefly re-opened earlier this year after regrading, but due to stunting in the area it was damaged and the town was forced to close the lot.

The first part of construction saw the regarding of the gravel lot in 2021 and the paving of the lot to follow in 2022.

According to Scott Garnett, marketing coordinator for the Town of Strathmore, “The contractor was instructed to start after September 1 to avoid the disruption to the spray park and lake users that frequent the area in the summer months.”

“Unfortunately, if the Town of Strathmore could predict vandalism would occur, we would have chosen not to open the parking lot following the first phase but realizing this is a popular parking lot, the intention was to limit the closure to as short a time as possible,” said Garnett.

“By closing the parking lot we are able to avoid a significant delay as the damage has been isolated to one area so far,” Garnett said.

Over the summer the lot was graded and mesh was installed in preparation for the paving of the lot. The lot was re-opened and then after acts of vehicle stunting a portion of the mesh layer was torn. The lot will now remain closed to traffic to prevent further damage to the mesh layer.

At present, the town says it’s expected that costs will be minimal because the damage has been restricted to one small area thus far.

It’s expected that the parking lot will be finished in the spring or summer of 2022.

Garnett says, “The town's municipal enforcement team is always looking at ways to reduce vandalism. Cameras are one option being explored.”