Memorial Park Crime: New Skate Park May Help
By Josh Simeone J.Simeone@krdo.com
COLORADO SPRINGS – A new neighbor to the Memorial Park area has visitors and homeowners hoping for a new advantageto fighting crime in the area.
The new 40,000 square foot skate park on the east side of Memorial Park opened Saturday. Hundreds of skateboarders and bikers, young and old, filled the park all day Saturday. Parents were also on hand, many watching their kids skate through the park.
It’s their hope, along with homeowners in the area that the park will help fight the neighborhood’s crime problem.
“To have the kids involved and the parents involved, I think it’s a really good thing,” mother Sylvia Stiles says.
Stiles’ daughter and mother live near Memorial Park. She makes about a dozen stops to the area every week, and believes the park will help curb the area’s crime problem.
Colorado Springs Police say the park has its fair share of crime from time to time. Officers report everything from noise complaints to violence. For years, neighbors in the areahave saidthe park’s value is ruined because of the crime. However, some feel the constant presence of adults and kids at the skate parkwill help to improve safety and park conditions.
