Here’s some need-to-know information for the week:
Holiday Closures
All City of Boulder administrative facilities and Age Well Centers will be closed Thursday, July 4, for the Independence Day holiday. Some facilities and services will remain open.
Citywide effort underway for water safety along Boulder Creek
A cross-departmental team has been evaluating options to increase water safety in and along Boulder Creek.
For the 2024 season, the city is installing signage to educate creek visitors about the risks of the creek and offering free drowning prevention classes to the community. These options can be implemented now and have the most immediate impact.
The sign plan includes creating three types of signs: informational, takeout identification and locational. Informational signage explains the dangers of the creek, how to recreate more safely, and where to get more information about current creek conditions. Takeout signage will indicate where there are takeout locations and warn of dangerous locations. Locational signs are like highway mile markers and will facilitate faster emergency response in the creek.
The informational signs will be located at trailheads and other access points along Boulder Creek. The takeout and locational signs will be installed adjacent to the creek and are designed for high visibility.
The signs will be located along the creek from the city’s western limits to Broadway. There will be 14 informational signs, 6 takeout signs and 35 locational signs. All signs are in both English and Spanish.
The signs are being fabricated now and will be installed in June. Starting this weekend, temporary signage will be placed along the creek.
Recognizing swim ability is one of the most important factors in water safety, Parks and Recreation staff are hosting free drowning prevention classes taught in both English and Spanish. There was a class at North Boulder Recreation Center (NBRC) in April, one at East Bouder Community Center (EBCC) in May with two upcoming at Spruce Pool in May and June. Looking ahead, this summer there will be 176 total swim lesson offerings spread across Spruce pool, NBRC and EBCC.
The team also began an evaluation of several options including requiring personal flotation devices (PFDs) and implementing a flag warning system denoting creek flows. Both options require more work to develop a recommendation.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Parks and Recreation Director Ali Rhodes at 303413-7249 or rhodesa@bouldercolorado.gov.
Community recommends new name for neighborhood park on Violet Avenue
The Parks and Recreation Department (BPR) is working on creating a new neighborhood park for the community on a 9-acre site along Violet Avenue between Broadway and 19th Streets. This park fulfills a key gap in the parks system, providing close-to-home park access for neighbors. We have reached a key milestone in the project – naming the new park.
As part of the project, the department has done extensive community engagement related to the park’s renaming. The project has a working title of “Violet Park” and city staff have worked closely with middle and high-school youth who live in the adjacent Boulder Meadows and participate in BPR’s Youth Services Initiative (YSI) program, Community Connectors, and neighbors to determine the park’s new name.
The recommended name, based on all community feedback, is Primos Park. “Primos” means “cousins” in Spanish and reflects neighbors’ hopes of gathering with friends and family in the future park. The combination of the Spanish word “Primos” and English word “Park” resonated with many community members’ multi-lingual experiences.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) heard about the recommended name during their May meeting (see page 13 of the PRAB packet for more information on the naming process and engagement that led to this recommendation). They shared positive feedback for the name Primos Park and the engagement process thus far. Through the Park Naming and Dedication Policy, PRAB has authority over park naming and will take official action on this recommendation at the June 24 meeting.
Neighbors within approximately a ½ mile radius of the park were notified of this proposed name via postcard in early May 2024 and emails were sent to the project listserv. For more information on this project, please visit the project webpage.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Parks and Recreation Director Ali Rhodes at 303413-7249 or rhodesa@bouldercolorado.gov.
Regards,
Nuria