Vandalism and deterioration responsible for removal of historic stagecoach at Thorndale Park

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Thorndale park-goers this week have noticed the old stagecoach is missing. Several viewers reached out to KRDO Newschannel 13 wondering where it went and if it will be reinstalled one day.

Kurt Schroeder, parks maintenance and operations manager for the City of Colorado Springs, says it’s likely gone for good.

“All things have its day, and I think the stagecoach has had its day,” said Schroeder. “It wouldn’t be safe to return it back to the playground.”

Schroeder attributes much of the deterioration to age and weather. However, vandalism also likely played a role in the stagecoach’s demise.

“It was a pipe structure that had broken,” said Schroeder. “Welds have broken. There were a couple [of] places where a quarter-inch steel strap was broken. So basically it fell into a state of disrepair.”

Tiago Perez’s porch overlooks the park where the stagecoach used to live. Perez claims his family has witnessed the worsening vandalism problem for themselves.

“The kids used to have a toy wagon, they turned it upside down,” said Perez. “They’ve broken some of the big toys. Sometimes at night, we see cars doing doughnut shapes in the grass and we see the next morning the damage they’ve done.”

With five kids under the age of 5, including two sets of twins, Perez hopes whoever is behind the vandalism will knock it off.

“It’s one of the few places with the pandemic that we can actually socialize from a distance,” said Perez. “I mean kids can come here and still get to play because there’s a lot of space, but not if things get destroyed.”

Schroeder says it’s possible the parks department will put a new piece of playground equipment in its place.