The city is going to look at the feasibility of expanding a downtown security camera program into Windsor’s parks to hopefully reduce costly acts of graffiti and vandalism. During Monday’s council meeting, Ward 4’s Mark McKenzie asked administration to report back on the cost, feasibility, and legal considerations of extending Windsor’s ‘Project Greenlight’ to city parks. McKenzie asked that the report examine if the existing vendor relationship and technology could be adapted to municipally owned property and if there are any privacy issues under Ontario’s municipal privacy legislation. “Maybe we could look at Lanspeary Park being a pilot project, but I also want legal’s opinion on that as well because you’re dealing with minors. Hopefully that report will come back. I’d love for it to come back some time this term ideally,” he says. In February, the city approved Security ONE Alarm Systems of Windsor for the job of purchasing and installing commercial-grade security cameras and video monitoring services while also maintaining in real time the surveillance for approved businesses within the downtown core as part of the city-funded program dubbed ‘Project Greenlight.’ Businesses that sign up for the program have cameras installed on their property that provide real-time monitoring capabilities, including two-way communication with sound and geofencing technology for potential trespass detection. Each camera is marked with a green blinking beacon to ensure public visibility. McKenzie says it will cost money to install the cameras and have them monitored, but it may end up saving money in the long run, especially when it comes to damaged playgrounds. “If there’s over $200,000 in damage, you probably have to replace the whole thing. I think insurance—I read that insurance only covers $200,000 of it, so we have to make up the difference. If you’re looking at putting in a new playground, half a million dollars, I think, is the cost approximately now," he says. The cost of addressing acts of vandalism and graffiti has been rising in recent years with the city paying $127,324 in 2020, $311,595 in 2021, $255,346 in 2022, $380,833 in 2023, $325,843 in 2024, and $643,950 in 2025. The dramatic spike in 2025 is attributed to the replacement of a playground damaged by fire. This past June, the washrooms at Lanspeary Park were vandalized, and at the start of July, a fire was deliberately set to a children’s playground set at Parent Park, causing $200,000 in damage. On July 22, a playground at Alton C. Parker Park was spray-painted with a racial slur. The downtown park is named after the first Black officer on the Windsor Police Service and Canada’s first Black detective. The city has over 200 local parks spanning approximately 2,537 acres of green space. A report will come back to a future meeting of Windsor City Council.
