According to the December issue of the Front Porch, Denver Department of Parks and Recreation plans to create massive play structures all over City Park that will be integrated through a series of trails and tunnels. “This is a very exciting project,” said District 8 Councilman Albus Brooks. “It kicks the crap out of what Councilman Herndon has over there in Stapleton at Central Park.”
Stapleton’s Central Park receives tens of thousands of visitors every year from all over Denver for its innovative playground equipment. “When we started the project, we told all of the potential designers, we wanted what Stapleton has, but make it a lot better,” said Councilman Brooks. “The designers really blew our minds with what they came up with. They were able to make our beautiful park look like a theme park. Exactly what everyone wanted.”
Well, maybe not exactly. Some residents have started a “Stop City Loop Initiative” to make sure the project doesn’t begin when scheduled in early 2015. “This isn’t a water park,” exclaimed Park Hill resident Sam Hartland. “This is a historic, beautiful Denver park. This is destruction of property, not an improvement.” Other Park Hill residents agree. “Take away the fact that it is going to hurt parking for residents, zoo-goers, golfers, and museum patrons,” said Nancy Miller. “This is something you should do to a suburban park, or Stapleton. This does not belong in a city park project.”
Others have taken their concern further. “What happened to kids playing sports or figuring out their own games with what is available at the park?” asked resident Jason Leonhart. “Are we that lazy we can’t play with them or let them use their creativity to make up games? Let the kids play, for goodness sake.”
Brooks is motivated to make sure the project comes to fruition. “This is going to be great for our district and the city. We are willing to look at some of the things and make some minor changes, but we expect these plans to pretty much stay intact.” Parks and Recreation spokesperson Jeff Green says the public had their chance to give feedback on the project, but never gave it. “We held several meetings, and we had very few attendees at any of the meetings,” said Green. “For example, we just had a meeting on Wednesday, December 11 at 10:45PM. Basically no one came.” Those interested in learning more about the loop can click here. Those interested in stopping the loop can click here.
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