The City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department (BPR) is instituting nighttime park closures following recent incidents where large groups of 200-250 youth, ranging in ages from 10-18, have lit fireworks and caused damage at several parks facilities. These incidents have occurred during nighttime group bicycle rides since April.
To protect city property, the city has adopted an emergency rule, beginning today, that will close all BPR-maintained parks on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. instead of 11 p.m. In addition, this rule is in effect for Tuesday, July 4.
The emergency rule will be in effect from June 29 through Thursday, July 27. Community members visiting parks after 9 p.m. on these Thursdays and on July 4 may receive a citation.
City property that has been damaged since April include a porta-a-potty, graffiti on playground equipment, and fireworks damage to a vehicle. Boulder Police Department (BPD) officers and BPR Urban Rangers have been identifying and mitigating these situations in BPR parks. BPD has had to divert resources and assign officers to specifically address the problem behaviors. Officers will be strictly enforcing park hours to ensure that public safety is maintained.
Pedestrians and cyclists may pass through the park during the closure, but no persons or property may remain during these special hours of closure. Standard park rules will still be in effect at all times.
“We value the group of Thursday Night Cruisers who make sure their activities are legal and is something that benefits the community,” said Deputy Director Scott Schuttenberg. “We hope that by implementing this ‘hours of operation’ change at our parks we can discourage any negative behavior group members demonstrate and we ask for the help of our community’s parents and guardians to deter this behavior. We want to deescalate this behavior before any harm comes to community members instead of park property.”
The city will reevaluate this early closure rule and will make adjustments to it as this situation evolves.
