Colorado Springs residents react to new Memorial Park safety measures

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Those who head out to Memorial Park this summer will be able to enjoy some new security features.

Colorado Springs Police announced Friday they completed the $1,726,331 upgrade project using grant money from the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, Office of Adult and Juvenile Justice Assistance, SB22-01 – Crime Prevention Through Safer Streets.

Police said meetings with community stakeholders revealed the top three concerns about the park were lighting, vandalism, and crime.

“It’s been unsafe the last couple of years, especially with the shootings, the loitering that we have, the drug use that some of the kids and gang members do that usually happens here in the parking lot,” park-goer Nicholas Rivas said.

In response, police installed the following:

• 19 gates at each access point to the park to make sure vehicles can’t enter the park after hours
• 10 wireless security cameras to provide 24-hour surveillance around the park and near Sertich Ice Center
• 180 new or improved lights to increase visibility throughout the park

“I feel like it should help make the situation better, we’re going to see once the summer happens and stuff but until we get to July, August, we won’t know the full outcome of how safe it’s going to be,” Rivas said.

Rivas said there are other things that can be done.

“A present security guard would be nice, more police force when they make their rounds would be nice and stuff, it would help to mitigate some of the worse scenarios that could happen,” Rivas said.

Park-goer Jose Alvarez said another way to increase safety is to hold more public events at the park.

“When you have the public around, there is a lot less, there’s more consciousness of people doing things when there is more eyes and it’s not as quiet so I feel like that can also push away a lot of the issues they’ve been having,” he said.

Memorial Park hours between November 1 to April 30 are from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and May 1 to October 31 from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.