Safety project complete in Colorado Springs’ Memorial Park following pattern of crime

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A $1.7 million multi-departmental project has been completed in Memorial Park to improve safety in the park, especially after dark. The project includes gates that will block entrances during the closing hours of the park, more security cameras around the skate park, and lights.

The project, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department, comes after their Crime Prevention Officers evaluated the area for safety concerns. The project was a collaborative effort between CSPD, Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services (PRCS), and Colorado Springs Utilities, with input from residents with the Hillside Advisory Team (HAT).

"Some of the things it boils down to is simple things like access to the park, late night and overnight and hours when the park isn't meant to be open to the public," Ira Cronin, Director of Communications for the Colorado Springs Police Department said.

The project includes 19 gates that will now close at night, ten new cameras installed around the Sertich Ice Center and skate park, 24-hour surveillance, and 180 new or improved lights throughout to improve visibility.

Memorial Park hours will be 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. between Nov. 1 to April 30, and 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. from May 1 to Oct. 31. The 19 access gates around the park will close after hours beginning Friday, April 12.

Christine Gee, who lives with her children across the street from the park, has noticed a difference in the crime rate since the new safety features were installed.

"[The crime has gone] down since they put the lights in. You know, they put cameras in and they took out the liquor stores. It's more of a family park now in the summer," Gee said.

She also mentioned hearing more gunshots during the summer at night and said she doesn't allow her kids to play in the park without supervision.

"It just kind of comes down to statistics, right?" Cronin said. "You have a beautiful park in this part of the city. It gets used by a lot of people. So just by looking at the number of more people in a given area, there's a chance that crime trends are going to increase in that area."