BALTIMORE — For a kid, the Chinquapin Run Park playground has it all.
"They like riding on the slides, the swings and just running around playing with each other," said Jonathan Gourdine, who brings his 5 and 7-year-old children to the playground.
But the damaged fence in the corner gives him pause.
"That fence definitely needs to be fixed," said Gourdine.
At the intersection of Chinquapin and Northern Parkways, there's a gaping hole right next to a seating area where a car came barreling through.
"On April the 17th, we had an accident," said Lorne Matthews, president of the Glen Oaks Community Association.
And he said since April, community members have been asking the City to fix this potentially dangerous situation.
"You can see, this is no place for kids to be able to play safely without some type of barrier, because there are going to be accidents, and then when they come in, we don't want a kid killed," said Matthews.
Matthews and others have held meetings, conducted safety walks, and filed 311 requests to get the fence repaired.
"And they close them out and say that the work is done and it's not done," said Matthews.
Harriett Ross, another Glen Oaks resident, is also tired of the eyesore and safety concern.
"I don't want to see our politicians just during election time. My work is getting to the polls. Your work is doing and getting this fixed, that's your job. Do your job," said Ross.
Even with a new fence, Ross said the issue isn't fully resolved.
"This is like putting a band aid on major surgery. That's exactly what this is. And this is not my idea of something that's going to be conducive for safety," said Ross.
Ross and Matthews said this isn't the first time the fence has been damaged in the same spot. And a Google Maps Street View image from September 2023 shows previous damage in the same location.
On Tuesday, WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii brought these residents concerns to Baltimore City Recreation and Parks and asked about plans for temporary and permanent fixes. On Wednesday, a spokesperson sent this statement:
"Teams from Baltimore City Recreation & Parks and the Department of Transportation visited the site this morning. A temporary repair to the fence has been carried out by Recreation & Parks today, which includes the installation of bike racks in front of the damaged fence area. A contractor will complete permanent repairs, and the estimated completion date has not yet been confirmed. Recreation and Parks is also assessing the feasibility of installing a more substantial protective barrier, like bollards, between the street and the playground."
For Ross and Matthews, these aren't big requests.
"You see those kids over there? That's our future. That's our future. Without them, we're lost, and that's all we want, safety for our young people, and not only that, for our senior citizens as well," said Ross.
And they have one other request.
A recent storm took down a massive tree in the park across the street. It now lies in the basketball court as kids dribble around it.
Baltimore City Recreation and Parks told Sofastaii they weren't aware of the downed tree. They've since sent an urban forester to visit the site and create a work order, but haven't said when the tree will be removed or when the fence will be repaired.
Click here to file a 3-1-1 request for an issue in your neighborhood. And if you have a "Matter for Mallory," email her at Mallory@wmar.com.