Pittsburgh’s mayor explains decision to dump sand in skate park

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto is talking about the sand that was dumped at a skate park in Polish Hill.

Peduto said people were not following the rules and there had been six acts of vandalism.

The locks were also cut off the gates several times, so city officials made the decision to dump the sand.

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“That stopped the vandalism, that stopped people from breaking the rules and utilizing the park. we never saw that problem in the other parks,” Peduto said.

Peduto is planning to announce Friday whether skate parks, as well as tennis and basketball courts can reopen.

Sand was dumped in a revolving door at Pittsburgh City Hall on Thursday night hours after a the skate park was filled in to keep people away.

According to TribLive.com, police said they were investigating the incident at the Grant Street entrance at the City-County Building downtown. Police would not say, however, if it was connected to the skate park.

Someone posted on Craigslist about free sand at the Polish Hill skate park, writing “Can be used for sandboxes, gardening, or to stage a reenactment of Raising Arizona.”

Saturday morning, neighbors in Polish Hill worked to clean up the sand and remove it from the skate park by using shovels and wheelbarrows.

After Channel 11′s crew left the park, sources said police came and shut down the cleanup. A political activist who picks up trash across the country helped organize Saturday’s effort.

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