Parks and pools could open under Governor’s extended Safer at home order

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- New draft guidelines have been released by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE) that allow more outdoor activities to take place.

The guidelines released are just a draft while the CDPHE waits for feedback from the public.

Gov. Jared Polis will also be addressing the executive order and answering questions Tuesday. We'll embed that stream below.

Public parks are encouraged to:

• Post signage throughout the area reminding individuals to stay at least 6- feet away from members of other households.
• Playgrounds may be open to up to 10 people at a time -- consider signage with the capacity limit and spacing recommendations.
• Outdoor sports facilities (i.e. tennis courts, basketball courts, pickleball courts, fields) may be open to up to 10 people at a time per court or per field.
• Clean frequently touched areas often (i.e. park benches or playground equipment).
• Space out visitor attendance by extending operating hours or limiting capacity

Some rules considered for outdoor swimming pools are:

• Limit pool to 50% capacity, up to 50 people, whichever is fewer.
• Swimmers not living in the same household should stay at least 6 feet apart during recreational swim, and there should only be one swimmer per lane for lap swim.
• Encouraged to establish a reservation system to space out visitor attendance, aid in contract tracing if exposures occur, and to allow for equitable use of the facility.
• While restrooms and showers must remain open, close off locker access to reduce congregation in enclosed spaces and sharing lockers.
• All frequently touched surfaces and shared objects such as handrails, chairs, and tables should be disinfected every hour between use.
• Surfaces in restrooms should be routinely cleaned every hour.
• Provide physical cues or guides (for example, lane lines in the water or chairs and tables on the deck) and visual cues (for example, tape on the decks, floors, or sidewalks) and signs to ensure that staff, patrons, and swimmers stay at least 6 feet apart from members of other households, both in and out of the water.

The rule above are just a draft, but the Colorado Springs City Parks Operation and Development Manager, Kurt Schroeder says they're keeping an eye on what guidelines become official.

"We're anxious to understand and learn what the disinfecting guidelines will be for other facilities such as playgrounds," he explains.

Schroeder says most park restrooms have already opened back up and are getting sanitized regularly.

"They'll give us a few days to adjust and digest them and understand exactly what the requirements are will be," Schroeder says.

If you want to provide feedback on these new guidelines, you can submit your comments here.