A number of green spaces are located along the main road linking Fez to the Meknes road, locally known as the road leading to Route de Meknès. They include Oued Fez Public Park, Andalus Park and several others.
Their current condition, however, points to significant deterioration, prompting frustration among residents and raising questions about how these facilities have been monitored, maintained and kept operational since opening.
Footage captured by Le360 paints a picture of widespread neglect: green spaces that have lost their greenery, non-functioning fountains turned into rubbish collection spots, damaged and vandalized children’s play equipment, deteriorating surfaces and poorly lit areas.
The situation is particularly severe at some sites, which appear to have gone without maintenance for some time, even though several of these spaces were completed only around two years ago.
In comments gathered by Le360, several residents expressed frustration over the condition of the parks, saying the continued neglect deprives the city of much-needed public spaces, particularly during the summer.
They said the problem goes beyond the damage to certain facilities, pointing also to inadequate lighting in several areas and the lack of regular maintenance. In their view, the situation requires concrete intervention from the authorities concerned.
Residents said ensuring that these facilities remain functional requires ongoing maintenance, monitoring and follow-up, along with greater public awareness of the importance of preserving them.
The value of such projects, they argued, does not lie solely in their construction but in their ability to continue serving the communities they were created for.
Civil society activist Bilal Ben Daoud said the condition of these spaces calls for a review of how they are managed and maintained, particularly as they are located along a major road that serves as one of the entrances to Fez.
The issue, he said, goes beyond the condition of individual parks and concerns the quality of the urban environment available to residents. Allowing these facilities to deteriorate without regular upkeep affects both the appearance of the area and the image of the city as a whole.
Ben Daoud criticized the way the company responsible for maintaining the green spaces carries out its work, calling on it to comply with the commitments set out in its specifications.
Maintenance, he said, should be carried out regularly and include watering, cleaning, tree pruning and upkeep of the various facilities, rather than waiting until they deteriorate before intervening. He also called for awareness campaigns and for civil society and residents to be involved in monitoring these public spaces.
According to the civil society activist, managing such facilities requires a long-term approach that ensures their sustainability from the project’s construction phase, rather than addressing problems only after they emerge.
He called on local authorities to establish clear mechanisms for monitoring and maintaining these spaces, arguing that the priority should not simply be to build new parks, but to ensure that existing ones remain in a condition that allows them to fulfill their purpose.
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These parks, he noted, are among the few public spaces available to Fez residents.
While substantial budgets were allocated to these projects to provide citizens with green spaces, their preservation and maintenance remain a shared responsibility. Allowing them to deteriorate after they are built undermines the very purpose for which they were created and prevents the investment from delivering its intended impact.
The challenge, therefore, is to ensure that these facilities are properly maintained and continue to serve the residents they were meant to benefit.
