Lack of Lighting in Amarillo’s Thompson Park Makes it Dangerous

Amarillo has some really great parks. They are perfect places to go and hang out with your family. Unless you happen to be there at night.

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Have you been to any of the parks at night?

My co-worker had the opportunity to take her son to Boo at the Zoo and by the time they got done, it was obviously dark. Since this is a popular event, the parking lot close to the Amarillo Zoo was full. This meant that arriving guests had to find parking in the surrounding smaller lots scattered around the park.

As my co-worker was walking back to her car with her small child all she could think was, "some crazy person is going to jump out and grab us."

Another thought was, "if for some reason my son breaks free and runs like the feral animal he is, I will lose him in the abyss."

It was that dark. 

Thompson Park is one of the largest parks in Amarillo and it is home to the Thompson Park Pool, the Amarillo Zoo, and Wonderland Amusement Park. One would think the park would be well-lit, especially with a popular event at the zoo taking place and set to end late in the evening.

The park was not well-lit, it was dangerously dark and no family should have to walk from an event in a public park in darkness.  Yes, the parking lot by the zoo was lit, but not much else.

@spitbiteWhen I say that was a LONG walk back to the car...♬ original sound - Sarah Says

I'm all for having events in area parks, but if an event in a city-owned park becomes a safety issue then that is a bigger issue for all of us as Amarillo citizens.

Here is where she had to park and then had to walk to the Amarillo Zoo:

I've seen light poles all over the park, so in this particular instance why aren't there more lights near the Amarillo Zoo?   The Amarillo Zoo has events all the time, and yes, some of those events take place after dark.

When Wonderland Park is open, the lights from all the rides are bright and light up the park, but since we are out of the season the lights are not on.

I realize that the Parks and Rec budget for the city is a shoestring budget, but in the future, if an event is happening they might want to think about bringing in some portable lights or fixing lights that are broken or installing more lights in the park.

Or any person attending an event at the park after dark might want to carry a flashlight so you can see since lights are a rare commodity in the park.