We have real issues in Seattle, but having frank conversations about it has been quite troublesome, too many people want to talk about feels rather than facts, leading to local satire like this: http://theneedling.com/2019/02/05/magnolia-named-worlds-most...
Seattle Parks & Recreation has started adding Park Ambassadors to address what you experienced, and it has significantly improved the downtown parks: https://downtownseattle.org/about/careers/park-ambassador-pa...