Windsurf Bay Park In Garland Closed For July Fourth Holiday
GARLAND, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Monday afternoon, Pamela Jackson and friend Amanda Muckle lounged in the shallow warm waters of Lake Ray Hubbard with their children.
The southwest edge of the lake sits along Garland's Windsurf Bay Park. The name comes from the popularity of lake windsurfers taking advantage of the brisk breeze that flows through this section of the lake.
"We love it here. We come every Monday," Jackson said. But by this same time next Monday, a fence will block Jackson's Garland access to the lake shore.
Then, three days later, the City of Garland will close Windsurf Bay Park on the Fourth of July.
The holiday shutdown is a one-day action, aimed at avoiding massive overcrowding of the park.
The Garland City Council voted for the one-day closure. Garland Police cited growing crowds at the park during holidays as examples of public safety concerns.
"Parks are intended for folks to have a good time, but when you have a park on a given day, and you have thousands showing up, and it's not designed for that many people, it creates huge safety concerns for our community," Lt. Pedro Barineau said.
Barineau said an estimated 8,000 people filled the park on Memorial Day. Independence Day 2017 had 5,000 visitors, according to the city.
Jackson and Muckle both said they were at the park on Memorial Day. Both agree the park was very crowded, but disagree with the city closure next week as a safety action.
"We don't understand the whole closing down. There is a lot of people expecting to be here, and now won't have as much fun this year," Jackson said.
Enjoying the lake just a few feet away from Jackson was Rob Cashman, playing with his three year old grandson.
"I was here on Father's Day. We stayed an hour. It was too crowded. I see no problem with closing it. It will be double or triple the crowd from Father's Day. We see people get too many drinks out here. It's hard for police and EMS to get in here because too many cars," Cashman said.