Colorado Springs to hire park rangers to help address safety concerns along trails
Oct. 17—Next year, Colorado Springs is planning to hire park rangers to help address safety concerns, particularly along trails, among other investments in the parks system.
Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Stephannie Fortune praised the addition of park rangers that will help supplement police response to issues, including homeless camps along trails.
"The constituents of District 3 have pleaded with us to find a way to take back the trails," Fortune said Monday during a budget workshop. The board listened to proposed budgets from department heads during the workshop and will vote on a budget later this year.
The city expects to hire four new park rangers who will likely patrol in teams of two. The new hires would fill roles similar to national park rangers by providing directions and assistance to park visitors and enforcing rules by writing tickets, said Britt Haley, Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services director. The City Council is expected to confirm Haley in her new role next week.
"They are there ready to act. If citizens have questions, they can ask them. Think about when you go to a national park, that's exactly what you do. That's what we need for our urban parks and our urban trails is that response team," Haley said.
She expects the rangers will focus on enforcement in areas such as the Pikes Peak Greenway and Midland Trails, but they could provide service to any city park or open space. The exact authority of the park rangers is yet to be determined, she said. They would not be sworn police officers.
The rangers could likely also respond more quickly to reports of camping and work with the police's homeless outreach team on enforcement, she said. The city does not allow camping on public land because shelter beds are available to anyone who needs one, Mayor John Suthers has said previously.
The city budget proposal includes $446,000 for four new positions and startup costs, including new vehicles, according to Haley's presentation.
The parks department is also expecting to start designing Grey Hawk Park, near North Gate Boulevard and Voyager Parkway, and reclaiming Black Canyon Quarry, west of Cedar Heights neighborhood, among other projects, according to the budget proposal.
The city expects to spend $200,000 on designing the 4.5-acre Grey Hawk Park, an area that's been set aside as a park for years, but has no amenities. The design work will determine how much to budget for park construction in future years, Haley said.
The Black Canyon Quarry, a partially reclaimed area visible from Manitou Springs, could see renewed restoration efforts next year as part of the budget.
The city is planning to spend $450,000 next year to stabilize the quarry with fill material and replanting native vegetation, Haley said. The property is expected to serve as a trailhead for the Pike National Forest's Waldo Canyon area. The canyon was closed after it was scorched by Waldo Canyon fire in 2012 and has not been reopened.
The Black Canyon Quarry open space property, about 160 acres, was purchased in 2020, as part of a larger deal with Castle Concrete that included another large parcel. As part of the deal, the city took over quarry reclamation that would have otherwise been the company's responsibility.
