I am writing to seek assistance on how to deal with a problem a Bucci Park in the Fleetwood area of Surrey.
Bucci Park is in the middle of three adjoining residential subdivisions. There is no public parking and would be considered a green space (with a small playground area) for the use of the local residents.
Unfortunately it is also used as a location to buy and sell drugs and as a spot for people to smoke dope. People travel to Bucci Park to openly deal drugs and smoke pot. These are not people who live in the adjoining subdivisions. What is worse is that this happens during daylight hours when there are families with small children trying to enjoy the area.
The reason why this park is attractive to people selling and using drugs is that the area inside the park is difficult to see from the road or from many houses as there is a lot of dense bush on the perimeter of the park.
The Surrey RCMP know about these activities in Bucci Park. I suspect their ability to enforce the law in Bucci Park is limited to showing up after a resident has called to complain. By the time the RCMP arrive the sellers and the smokers have long gone. I am not criticizing the RCMP, just pointing out that there are many issues that require their resources.
It is not enjoyable to use the park. There are sellers and smokers in the park everyday making it uncomfortable to just walk through the park. I often walk by people smoking marijuana and they make no attempt to hide what they are doing.
Is creating a community block watch program the answer? Can the City of Surrey and the Surrey RCMP assist the residents of the area tackle this problem? Can the City of Surrey remove all of the dense perimeter bush to make Bucci Park less attractive to the people that sell and use drugs? I am hoping anyone that might read this can provide some suggestions.
Dean Conte
Surrey