Over the past two months there have been two crime reports of attempted rapes on the Parkway in the upriver areas east of River Park, areas generally considered safe to venture in alone, even for women.
As the area surrounding the Parkway becomes more urbanized, crime will inevitably go up, but with proper attention to increasing law enforcement's presence, the Parkway can remain the sanctuary we expect it to be.
An obvious first step is to increase the ranger patrols dramatically. Most Parkway users report that they hardly ever see the park rangers on any regular basis.
In a large park area where tree and plant growth is as extensive as it is in the Parkway's almost 5,000 acres, and criminals can hide virtually anywhere along the trails, it is absolutely vital that law enforcement be highly visible at all hours of public use to ensure public safety.
This just isn't an option and it speaks to a foundation of our organization's strategy( see our website at; http://www.arpps.org ) to have the management of the Parkway come under a nonprofit organization providing a singular and dedicated focus, which it certainly does not have now.
