Vehicles driving on the Gibbons Park grass? The city is looking into it

A video posted on YouTube over the weekend shows four different vehicles driving on the grass at London's Gibbons Park, and a regular park visitor says it's not an isolated incident. 

The video shows drivers ignoring park signs that say vehicles are only allowed on the park's roadways or in "designated parking areas." 

The camera captures vehicles driving onto the grass and along the paved pathways in the park's large green space located between the Gibbons Place parking lot and the parking lot at the west end of Victoria Street. 

CBC News reached out to the person who posted the video through the YouTube comment section, but did not receive a response on Monday. The video was also shared on Reddit.

London Police say they received no complaint calls about vehicles driving on the grass last weekend. 

Perry Heath is a regular visitor to Gibbons Park. He often gathers at the pavilion with a group of friends who all use mobility scooters.

Heath said people often drive their vehicles past the parking lot and inside the park when they have barbecues at the park's fire pits or gatherings at the large pavilion, which can be rented from the city. 

Based on what he's observed, people often prefer to use their vehicles to transport food, lawn chairs and other items from the parking lot to the park's cooking pits and picnic areas rather then carry those items across the grass. 

"People will come in with their cars. They'll drive right up here on these beautiful lawns," he said. "And they'll park sometimes for hours. We don't like that." 

Heath didn't witness the incident from last weekend. However, he did say that on a handful of occasions, he's complained about vehicles in the park to the city.

"I've taken pictures that include licence plate numbers and sent them to the city and what happens, I don't know," he said. "There's no follow up.

"Mostly it's people coming to the picnic areas with their vehicles because they don't want to or aren't able to walk that far."  

In response to queries from CBC News, a city spokesperson released a statement from Wade Jeffrey, a manager with the city's community compliance and animal welfare services.

"We are very disappointed to learn that vehicles were observed driving on the grass in Gibbons Park over the weekend," he said.