Zintel Canyon is rotting away
»Play Video
KENNEWICK, Wash. - After getting no little help from the city of Kennewick, you asked us to step in to see if anything is going to be done about it.
The serene trail in the middle of the city has become a haven for gang activity.
Connie Forsha isn't happy about the lack of attention in this part of town. She said, "There's all this gang graffiti. Down all this is all usually painted you know with graffiti. The walls are all painted with graffiti, the trees are painted with graffiti."
She's walked this trail for 8 years and has never seen it this bad.
She continues, "There used to be a lot of wildlife down here. You don't even see that anymore they've given up on it."
The animals aren't the only ones. Connie and her friends feel that the city gave up too.
"There's benches, but you can't see the benches because they've let the weeds grow up around the benches," she said. To her, this proves the city has abandoned the downtown area altogether.
The city says they have over 800 acres of park area to maintain in the city of Kennewick, 400 of which are all green areas. Crews and budgets being stretched thin they just can't be everywhere all the time.
Connie contacted the city and told them she was going to call KEPR for help. She went back to the park a few days after that call and noticed that crews attempted to cover up some of the graffiti. "They did the lazy man way," she said.
Connie says this is proof that the downtown area is being taken over by gangs. Because of that, she says the city is neglecting this part of town.
She said, "It's just sad they way they don't care. They'll put in a new park up on 45Th or they'll do all that work on Southridge and they let this go."
The city told us this about the situation. "We're not ignoring the Zintel Canyon area. It's just as important today as it's always been. We do not have any agenda on a certain area of town reserved for a higher priority of serve than another," said Evelyn Lusignan, Customer Service Manager for Kennewick.
Most visitors put up with the current conditions, though they'd like them to improve.
"Just make it nice again. I'm just asking them to clean up the mess that's here," insists Connie.
The city says it will try to spend more time in that area. It could also be assigned to a volunteer group interested in new projects.
We'll check back on this area to see if the conditions improve.
The serene trail in the middle of the city has become a haven for gang activity.
Connie Forsha isn't happy about the lack of attention in this part of town. She said, "There's all this gang graffiti. Down all this is all usually painted you know with graffiti. The walls are all painted with graffiti, the trees are painted with graffiti."
She's walked this trail for 8 years and has never seen it this bad.
She continues, "There used to be a lot of wildlife down here. You don't even see that anymore they've given up on it."
The animals aren't the only ones. Connie and her friends feel that the city gave up too.
"There's benches, but you can't see the benches because they've let the weeds grow up around the benches," she said. To her, this proves the city has abandoned the downtown area altogether.
The city says they have over 800 acres of park area to maintain in the city of Kennewick, 400 of which are all green areas. Crews and budgets being stretched thin they just can't be everywhere all the time.
Connie contacted the city and told them she was going to call KEPR for help. She went back to the park a few days after that call and noticed that crews attempted to cover up some of the graffiti. "They did the lazy man way," she said.
Connie says this is proof that the downtown area is being taken over by gangs. Because of that, she says the city is neglecting this part of town.
She said, "It's just sad they way they don't care. They'll put in a new park up on 45Th or they'll do all that work on Southridge and they let this go."
The city told us this about the situation. "We're not ignoring the Zintel Canyon area. It's just as important today as it's always been. We do not have any agenda on a certain area of town reserved for a higher priority of serve than another," said Evelyn Lusignan, Customer Service Manager for Kennewick.
Most visitors put up with the current conditions, though they'd like them to improve.
"Just make it nice again. I'm just asking them to clean up the mess that's here," insists Connie.
The city says it will try to spend more time in that area. It could also be assigned to a volunteer group interested in new projects.
We'll check back on this area to see if the conditions improve.
