Gates let city control Garden of Gods access
 Garden of the Gods visitors (background) hike up the trail past the Kissing Camels rock formation while in the foreground is a gate that Colorado Springs Parks crews were installing in the Garden on Juniper Way Loop at Gateway Road. Westside Pioneer photo
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A private security company is handling these efforts under a contract with Colorado Springs Parks, according to Kurt Schroeder, the department's maintenance and operations manager.
“We strongly believe the installation and implementation of this gate system will benefit the long-term health and safety of Garden of the Gods Park, the most visited and one of the most beloved parks in our city,” Schroeder said. “These gates also give our maintenance crews more flexibility in clearing the roadways following heavy snow activity and allow for closures during special events and emergency situations where evacuation would be deemed necessary.”
He has also described continuing problems of criminal activity in the park late at night, including speeding cars and gunfire.
The Garden has free access and is open daily. The scheduled closure times are 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (May 1 to Oct. 31) and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Nov. 1 to April 30).
Parks crews installed the first four gates in fall 2017.
The new gate on Gateway Road west of 30th Sreet is at the busiest access to the Garden. Its gate installation had been delayed because of a separate 30th Street study that includes plans for a roundabout at Gateway and 30th and until this year those plans were still conceptual.
The other four new gates are within the park interior. Having gates inside is required to handle the Garden's fairly complex roadway arrangement. “We have two one-way loops connected by a two way street, plus we've got four entrances,” Schroeder summarized.
Added Vanessa Zink of City Communications, “the extra gates are needed for security and to sweep the park for cars at night so they don't get stuck in there.”
Westside Pioneer article