Be forewarned, park-goers: 18 more city parks, from Makapuu to Mokuleia, are now closed at nights, in an effort to curtail vandalism and illegal homeless activity. That brings the total of night-closed parks to nearly 60 — a trend that started in April with 25 urban parks, with another 16 added later. These parks’ bathrooms and gates are locked at night, a needed policy launched after more than 600 acts of vandalism were reported at city parks over the past three years. The damage done to sinks, stalls and pipes had been senseless as well as expensive to repair, and park-goers have expressed concerns about chronic shady activities.

Vandalism at city parks in 2017 cost city maintenance crews over $224,000, up from $200,000 in 2016 and $189,000 in 2015 — and that’s not even including larger repair jobs.

The latest 18 Windward-North Shore park closures, which began Friday, add $39,000 to the city’s contract with American Guard Services Inc., which began in April as a three-month, $26,000 job to secure 25 parks. The night closures come on top of a $44,000 monthly pilot that since November, has pairs of Hawaii Protective Association unarmed guards rotating among nine city parks against illegal homeless activity.

No thanks to vandals, maintaining quality public parks for all to enjoy comes at a rising price.