Jefferson County closes popular park citing St. Louis area visitors are making it dangerous
JEFFERSON CO., Mo. (KMOV) - Officials tell News 4 Rockford Beach Park will be closed this weekend because of an influx of St. Louis area visitors causing problems. The beach will shut down from Friday, July 7 until Monday, July 10.
“There are people not just coming from Jefferson County but really all over the St. Louis Region and this place has become packed with people,” says Grant Bissell, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office tells News 4 these incidents are putting people at risk. Since Memorial Day, there have been fights, guns, stealing and loss of life at Rockford Beach Park.
Authorities tell News 4 that crowds have gotten so big it has prevented police, firefighters and EMS from getting to those in need.
Over the July 4th weekend, a St. Louis man drowned after jumping off a cliff and into the river.
“There were hundreds if not 1000 people out here,” says Bissell. “God forbid should there be another water rescue situation, or someone has a medical emergency, you need to get a fire truck in here or an ambulance. With the way cars were packed in here and have been this summer you can’t get in here.”
Mary Hadley’s wedding anniversary plans at the beach are now canceled.
“Now my celebration is ruined. It’s going to suck,” she says.
Meetings will begin Friday with law enforcement, parks and recreation departments and first responders to come up with short-term and permanent solutions.
“We need to address this problem now before it becomes an even bigger problem as the summer months go on,” Bissell says.
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Source: KMOV4
