Seniors encouraged to exercise at public parks

Local greenery authorities are encouraging senior residents to carry out their morning exercises at public parks rather than at specialty parks as complaints about ruined flowerbeds and disrupted wildlife at such places in the city continue to rise.

An estimated 1 million to 1.5 million seniors who exercise regularly at parks citywide are being asked to make use of the city's 157 public parks and greenbelts rather than head for popular places, particularly Shanghai Botanical Garden and Shanghai Zoo, which are treated as specialty parks by the city.

"We can't force people to stop exercising at specialty parks before opening hours, but we hope that more of them will go to public parks instead so that authorities at specialty parks can better maintain the scenic spots," Feng Shucheng, director from the Shanghai Botanical Garden, told the Global Times yesterday.

But authorities are still looking at other possibilities to help improve the situation, he said.

In recent months, specialty parks have been dealing with a growing number of problems from routine exercisers, who typically come at dawn to enjoy a pleasant environment, but leave lawns and plants damaged, authorities at both Shanghai Botanical Garden and Shanghai Zoo complained yesterday.

They said that they hoped that authorities could work out a feasible plan to reverse the situation before too long.