A decision was made at the July 5 Garland City Council work session to close Windsurf Bay Park on weekends – Friday through Sunday – as well as holidays.
Garland Police Chief Jeff Bryan provided a history of the problems at the park:
Garland PD began to see challenges at the park in 2016, which was around the same time that other parks at Lake Ray Hubbard had been closed. On July 4, 2016, an estimated 5,000 people were at the park. The park was staffed with 14 officers, 10 park staff and additional staff outside the park addressing traffic problems. However, there were still problems. Similar issues occurred in 2017 that required a good deal of resources.
On Memorial Day 2018 there were approximately 8,000 people at Windsurf Bay Park, which is built for 2,500 people. There were serious parking issues with some people parking as far away as Zion Road and the I-30 service road and walking in.
On July 4, 2018, 10,000 people were expected, so, with GPD’s encouragement, the city closed the park.
“We had to come up with a better plan. 10,000 people in that park are just too many people,” Bryan said.
In 2018 an ordinance was approved that allowed the police chief to close entry to the park once the number of visitors reached 2,500.
This ordinance was tested Memorial Day 2019. GPD closed the park once 2,500 people had been admitted. There was a large staff there inside and outside the park. Approximately 3,000 were turned away. The situation was the same July 4, 2019.
The summer of 2020 was not a problem because of the pandemic.
Summer 2021:
June 12-13, 2021 were the first days of this summer that the weather was good and the capacity of visitors to the park was met. Because of excessive rain, visitors couldn’t park in the field, so they parked throughout the adjoining residential neighborhood.
Father’s Day weekend they reached capacity then turned away 3,000 people. A fight broke out and escalated to the point of visitors using weapons like machetes and hammers and the issue eventually led to gunfire. GPD couldn’t get into the park by car because of the way people were parked and because of a traffic jam created by people fleeing.
There were minor injuries, but fortunately, no life-threatening injuries. No emergency vehicles could enter. Garland Fire Department personnel had to walk into the park to treat people as well.
One of the biggest problems is that the park belongs to the city of Garland, but the lake belongs to the city of Dallas. Therefore, boating and swimming violations are up to the Dallas Police Department. Enforcement in the park belongs to city of Garland.
“This park, right now as it sits, is my No. 1 safety concern,” Bryan said. “Father’s Day, we were on the brink of disaster. Thankfully we averted disaster but it is not a safe place for our staff at this point.”
Several options were discussed. One included a sort of restructuring in the police department to allocate more officers for the park. This option would have relocated officers from other assignments where they are currently needed. In the end, a decision was made to close Windsurf Bay Park on weekends and holidays until further notice.