Social distancing at Colorado Springs parks still not improving enough, official says

It's been a week since Colorado's transition from "Stay at Home" to "Safer at Home" orders began, and officials in Colorado Springs held a news conference to reveal that large numbers of people were violating social distancing recommendations at city parks.

On Tuesday, a city Parks and Recreation official said the amount of voluntary compliance still hasn't significantly improved -- raising the chances of some or all parks being restricted or closed.

But Kurt Schroeder, the department's maintenance and operations manager, said no decision has been made yet on how soon that might happen, and continues to hope that the situation eventually improves enough to keep the area's 200 parks open.

"There needs to be a lot more done," he said. "And out next step will probably be looking harder at some facilities -- and if we need to shut down a certain facility, we're going to have to consider that."

Although police issued a number of tickets for parking violations last week at North Cheyenne Cañon Park, officials said they have yet to issue a citation for violating social distancing guidelines.

That could change, however, if more park users don't voluntarily comply with the recommendations to wear masks, stay at least six feet apart, avoid gathering in groups of ten or more, spread out to a variety of parks and avoid playing team sports in anything more than small family groups.

Some park users confessed that they don't wear masks of follow other guidelines and would not be in favor of stronger enforcement.

"I don't think there should be citations because parks are helping to keep people sane," said Bailey Kram. "But then, parks can get too crowded. Today, we had to wait in line to play tennis and we haven't had to do that before."

She and her fiance', Jackson Patillo, said they feel comfortable not wearing masks.

"We're maintaining our distancing and not getting too close to other people, so we feel OK," he said.

Rory Glassford, playing 4-on-4 basketball at Venezia Park, said he's not worried about the health risks of being too close to others.

"I'm not completely ignorant to the risk," he said.  "Luckily, we're 17 and 18, so if we were to contract the disease, it would be better for us than for my parents or grandparents."

North Cheyenne Cañon Park and Venezia Park, Schroeder said, commonly have the biggest crowds and the largest number of violators.

"We're getting voluntary compliance in some areas, he said. "But in other areas, we're not. We're seeing sports teams show up. That's not permitted. Neither is sharing equipment, and we're seeing that."

A visit to Venezia Park by a KRDO NewsChannel 13 crew Tuesday showed visitors gathering in groups of fewer than ten, but people participating in team sports and being in close contact, and few wearing a mask.

Even at the smaller Village Green Park, a mother watched as her two young children played on a playground, even with signs and caution tape alerting people that playgrounds are closed under the current health order.

The mother later explained that she doesn't speak English well and didn't understand what the warnings mean.

Stephani Newberry brought her kids to the park, following officials' advice to visit parks closer to home.

"Do I think there needs to be stronger enforcement?  I do," she said. "We're pretty safe.  We stay away from other people, we don't go to stores.  I picked this one specifically because it was empty.  But I have seen a lot of places -- a lot of places -- that are packed."

Schroeder emphasized that guidelines for park behavior have essentially remained unchanged during both health orders.

"I want to remind people of that," he said. "The message has been out there. We just need people to heed it."