Initiative to improve park safety

by Julie Strupp

Monday, September 15, 2008 00:00

City officials hope to make parks safer for Madison residents through a new initiative sponsored by the Madison Parks Division and the Madison Police Department.

People for Parks launched the Madison Parks Watch program earlier this month by training community members to react appropriately to local threats and problems.

Madison Parks Superintendent Kevin Briski came up with the idea to start the initiative in conjunction with the Madison Police Department.

“We contacted the police, and they were very enthusiastic,” Parks Community Relations Coordinator Laura Whitmore said.

The main part of the initiative is to create teams of community members who are informed about the issues their park faces and how to deal with them when those problems arise.

The Parks Watch training, conducted by the Madison police, will focus on what to look for as a witness, how to handle situations when they arise and who to contact for various problems.

“The Parks Watch Program is a good way of getting citizens involved in maintaining the usability and public safety of Madison’s parks. Both the Police and Parks Department continue to do a great job promoting safe, quality parks across the City of Madison,” Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s spokesperson Rachel Strauch-Nelson said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

The People for Parks organization was created in 1983 as a venue encouraging community members to interact with their local parks.

Whitmore said more than 2,000 local volunteers help out in the park directly by mulching trees, repairing hiking trails, taking part in Earth Day cleanups or in numerous other ways.

Volunteers also raise funds for park improvements, which are then expanded through a funds matching program

Whitmore said now they have a third way they can contribute — through the Parks Watch Program.

According to Whitmore, each of Madison’s 270 parks has different issues and concerns. In order to be able to respond efficiently, the program has to be very flexible and open-ended.