SAFETY IN PARKS A CONCERN
Random attacks increase vigilance
In the wake of a 15-year-old being stabbed in a popular southwest dog park, Robert Grigg said it’s still a safe area.
But the president of the Braeside Community Association admits the incident is shocking enough to heighten his sense of vigilance.
“I’d still feel safe going there, but maybe not after dark,” said Grigg, whose community encompasses the park at Anderson Road and 14th Street S.W. “It’s tragic and weird, and you’d never expect this kind of thing to happen.”
On Saturday, just before 8 p.m. and well after sundown, a teenage boy suffered serious internal injuries when he was stabbed by a man in what police are calling a random assault.
The teen was walking in the offleash park with his mother when the incident occurred.
Earlier that day, a man in his 50s was struck from behind while walking on a pathway east of Macleod Trail and south of Canyon Meadows Drive in Fish Creek Provincial Park.
His assailant robbed him before fleeing, and the victim was taken to hospital in serious condition.
Police say they don’t believe the two attacks are linked, but both were committed by people who didn’t know their victims.
Grigg said crime statistics show his community is safe, but said more could be done to shore up confidence for those using the dog park.
“It’s a pretty big park and there’s a grove of trees there that might be a place to put a light,” he said, adding he’ll mention that to area Coun. Jeromy Farkas.
“There’s some ambient light that comes off both Anderson Road and 14th Street, but it’s not as much light as on a residential street.”
An arrest of a suspect would help soothe local fears, he said, “but first of all, we really want to know the boy who was attacked is going to be OK,” said Grigg.
The assault in Fish Creek Park is a rarity, said Chris Lalonde, spokesman for the Friends of Fish Creek.
But he said there’s more of a concern over how some users of the park interact with each other.
“We have a park watch program and they haven’t really seen a lot of things happening,” said Lalonde.
“But there’s a continuous issue on the pathways — it’s getting to be more of an issue of people not being respectful, and if someone says something, it could escalate.”
Large city parks that contain wilderness areas remain safe places but common sense is still required, said Paul Finkleman, a director with the Weaselhead/ Glenmore Park Preservation Society.
“When I’m riding my bike through there at night, I’m always aware and ask myself, ‘What would I do if somebody jumped out at me?’ ” he said.
Over the years, the biggest safety concern in the Weaselhead are confrontations with bears that have never ended badly, he continued.
Even so, Finkleman lamented the reluctance of women to walk alone at night for any substantial distance in poorly lit or remote areas.
“Whenever I see a woman out like that, I think she’s brave,” he said.
On Monday, Calgary Police Staff Sgt. Jeff Macqueen said Calgary’s parks remains safe, but that going out in groups is advisable in remote or dark places.
“There’s always safety in numbers ... we’re not saying it’s unsafe out there,” he said.
He said the remote locations of both assaults mean there are few witnesses and little surveillance footage, and asked anyone with recordings to contact police.
The suspect in the Fish Creek Park assault is described as a 40to 50-year-old man with brown skin, rolled-back hair and a medium build. He was dressed in black pants and a black top with white dots.