City combating litter problems at newly re-energized Pearsall Park

The Southwest Side's newest attraction, Pearsall Park, has seen a throng of visitors — and their trash — since its opening on June 11. Vanessa Celestino captured some of days after the unveiling on June 13, 2016. less The Southwest Side's newest attraction, Pearsall Park, has seen a throng of visitors — and their trash — since its opening on June 11. Vanessa Celestino captured some of days after the unveiling on June 13, ... more Photo: Provided By Vanessa Celestino Photo: Provided By Vanessa Celestino Image 1 of / 126 Caption Close City combating litter problems at newly re-energized Pearsall Park 1 / 126 Back to Gallery

The Southwest Side's newest attraction, Pearsall Park, has seen a throng of visitors — and their trash — since its opening on June 11.

Pearsall Park's litter problem garnered attention when resident Vanessa Celestino shared what she had seen during her visit just days after the unveiling — lawns speckled with plastic containers, "piles of trash" and "dirty diapers — she said in a Facebook post.

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Thousands of Facebook users shared and reacted to the post, including District 4 Councilman Rey Saldaña, who spearheaded the project of revitalizing the park by turning a former landfill into a place where the community can enjoy running tracks, zip lines and splash pads.

"Glad to see there was very little trash today and many were helping me clean," he captioned a picture of himself holding a recycling receptacle in one hand and giving a thumbs-up with the other on June 13.

District 4 Chief of Staff Tim Salas told mySA.com the park has "been immensely populated."

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"There are folks coming from all around the city to check out the park," he said. "People are getting carried away and leaving trash."

Salas added that dealing with the effect of a visitor uptick is being handled as "a learning process" for the city's parks and recreation department. He said they've done a "wonderful job" of adding staff members to monitor activity and extra trash receptacles.

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According to San Antonio Parks and Recreation, littering at a city park is a Class C misdemeanor.

The department said an increase in garbage is "natural" and although garbage is being picked up daily at Pearsall Park, is reminding residents to utilize trash and recycling reciprocals located throughout.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye