WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Like many parents, Emily Mees loves taking her 3-year-old son Phoenix to the West Chester Splash Park.
Mees said it's fun for her son and gives her an opportunity to spend quality time with him outside during the summer months.
But now, that option has washed away.
In a social media post, the township said the splash park is closing "due to maintenance and operational issues, as well as reports of injuries and safety concerns."
The splash park was set to close after Labor Day, but Mees said she's disappointed it'll instead be closing down a month earlier.
WATCH: What Mees feels the biggest risks are at the park
"He'll definitely be devastated over it," Mees said.
She showed us around the park on Friday afternoon. She said she believes the most dangerous thing is the tube slide at the park. She said she often watches kids go down the slide one after another, nearly trampling each other.
"I can kind of watch how the kids are right here and keep them, you know, 'Let's keep it one at a time, guys, one at a time,'" Mees said.
Mees said she doesn't think the equipment is necessarily unsafe; rather, she said she feels kids are running around out of control.
"The biggest thing of my concern is the parents that really aren't watching their children," Mees said. "No one's watching."
She said one solution the township could consider is an age cap to keep things safer for smaller kids. She worries that bigger kids often trample over other kids half their size.
But the biggest fix in her eyes, she said, is having someone keep a closer eye on everyone.
"If we can afford to build it, we can afford to put somebody in place to monitor the children and keep everybody safe," Mees said.
A West Chester spokesperson tells WCPO 9 News they're looking into solutions to the concerns from parents. They said if you have recommendations to contact them through their website.
