Frederick residents concerned about safety in College Estates Park

May 18—Erica Panjehshahi likes her neighborhood. Tucked in a wedge of land between U.S. 15 and Fort Detrick, behind the stores of the Frederick Shopping Center, the neighborhood is a mix of apartment buildings and single-family homes.

It's a good neighborhood, she said: diverse, a blend of established homeowners and newer arrivals and a great place for kids to go trick-or-treating.

But lately, some residents feel there's been an uptick in criminal activity in and around College Estates Park. A noninjury shooting occurred outside the park on Taney Avenue April 27, an online community crime map shows. About one-half mile away, an aggravated assault took place on West Seventh Street May 8.

Lt. Andrew Alcorn of the Frederick Police Department said lately complaints have been of people in the park after hours, possibly using drugs. The police have also heard of unattended children in the park. Some residents complained of litter around the pavilion.

About three dozen residents in early May convened a community meeting with Mayor Michael O'Connor, police and several alderman to voice their concerns, Panjehshahi said.

Upon hearing from locals, the Frederick Police Department increased its patrols in the area. It's also evaluating the environmental layout of the park to see if a redesign might help deter crime, according to Alcorn, who attended the community meeting.

Located at the corner of Taney Avenue and Wilson Place, the park is an urban open space with asphalt basketball courts, a playground with swings, a slide, a merry-go-round and a pavilion with grills for cooking.

There's litter in the grass near the bus stop at the corner of Taney and Wilson: a crumpled aluminum can, a french fry container from the McDonalds down along Seventh Street and a crumpled lottery ticket.

Three or four years ago, Panjehshahi called city staff out to remove a used needle from the curb outside her house.

Panjehshahi said her family has lived near the park for 12 years. Her kids loved going there when they were younger, but they don't go as much anymore, she said.

Some of the issues, like the people using the basketball courts after hours or the loud music, are part of living in a city, she understands.

But others, like the reported drugs and sexual activity that goes on at the park, aren't.

"That happens during the day," Panjehshahi said.

Traffic along Taney Avenue gets worse in the evenings, especially if U.S. 15 is backed up.

When there's an event at the park, her neighbors sometimes can't get out of their driveways because of the vehicles parked along the street.

She doesn't want anyone to be afraid of going to the park. But she wants to make sure it's an inviting place for residents and families to come.

The police have been good about addressing complaints, Panjehshahi said, and the city changed the timing on the lights of the basketball courts so they shut off at 10 p.m. when the park closes.

The way Lt. Alcorn tells it, police did not realize the park had become an area of concern to residents until recently.

"Until the meeting came about we were pretty much unaware of the issues that were occurring," he said.

Though police patrol the area on a regular basis, Alcorn said the frequency of their presence is affected in part by how often they receive calls for service. In an interview, he encouraged residents to call police if they see criminal activity or sense something is amiss.

"If we don't know about it, we can't help," he said.

Since the community meeting, the city has been able to get a camera placed in the park, fix some lighting issues, and increase patrols to address some of the residents' concerns, O'Connor said in an email.

Alcorn theorizes concerns picked up after the April 27 shooting outside the park. He said police didn't publicize the incident at first because they believed it could have been linked to another incident under investigation.

In response to the community meeting, an FPD employee trained in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is evaluating the park for potential solutions. Alcorn, who underwent the training years ago, said the program is designed to encourage officers to think outside the box in regard to crime prevention.

In a CPTED evaluation, he said police look at lighting, trees, shrubbery and other features to consider how they may impact crime. Adding lights to a dark path may deter criminals from gathering, and removing a wall may take away a person's hiding place.

Whether the police department's potential recommendations come to fruition, however, depends on city officials. Alcorn said any suggestions for changes to College Estates Park would be forwarded to O'Connor.

The cost and the timing of any recommendations from an assessment would determine what budgets would be looked at and what changes could be made, according to O'Connor.

He said he's excited for the city to partner with the College Estates residents to form a community organization for friends of the park.

"While we can look at the numbers for incidents that occur in an area, and our police already use that data to drive patrol decisions, being able to respond quickly when there is an incident and listen to the concerns of the residents and identify possible solutions when there are immediate concerns is very important," O'Connor said.

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