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Date Published: 28/01/2022
ARCHIVED - Parque Sauces dinosaurs will not be fixed until April, when parts arrive from China
The broken tails and tongues of the Cartagena park’s dinosaur statues will take 3 months to repair
Recently vandalised dinosaurs in Cartagena’s Parque Sauces won’t be replaced for another three months, when the specialist parts needed for the repairs finally arrive from China.
The park was opened last month after almost four years of improvement works which came in over budget. The new installations included several large dinosaur sculptures and a shiny new play area for kids, but this failed to impress commentators who pointed out that the explanatory signs with information about each dinosaur contained multiple spelling mistakes and that the equipment was likely to be vandalised before long.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Some of the dinosaurs had their tails broken off just a few short days after it was inaugurated, leaving the sponge and iron interiors exposed. It has also become clear that the material which they are made of is deteriorating very quickly, with cracks and holes caused by the rain and cold weather that suggest the material isn’t made to be put outdoors.
The damage caused in the Sauces Park will not be repaired immediately, though. Once the technicians issued their report on the damage, it was decided to order the corresponding replacements. The problem now is that the parts were sent from China, and so will not arrive in Cartagena until April.
Cartagena City Council has also now decided to reinforce surveillance measures in the park to avoid new acts of vandalism, which it insisted are detrimental to all Cartagena residents. They have called for “civic-mindedness and respect for the street furniture and infrastructure, so that we can continue to enjoy them”, while requesting the cooperation of the public to condemn any kind of violent act in the park.
In addition to the dinosaurs, the park has new LED lighting, the children’s play area has been completely renovated, the park has been decorated with dinosaur footprints along the paths, exercise equipment has been installed for the elderly – some of which has also been destroyed – and a fountain simulating a volcano. In all, the Council has invested a total of 218,997 euros in this work.
Image: Noelia Arroyo, Mayor of Cartagena
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