One more public space in the St. Louis region is being closed to stop the spread of COVID-19. As of 8 p.m. Friday, April 3, all St. Louis County parks will be closed throughout the county’s Stay at Home order, which is scheduled to sunset on April 22.
“With warmer weather, our parks are becoming more and more crowded,” St. Louis County Parks Director Tom Ott said in a statement. “During this health crisis, we cannot allow large groups of people to be together in one place.”
The primary mode of enforcement will be goodwill and common sense, the county stated. If needed, park rangers and County Police will patrol parks to ensure compliance.
“This will help us save lives. That’s our top priority,” St. Louis County Executive Sam Page stated. “I had hoped we could keep the parks open but the spread of COVID-19 is too big of a threat to the health of our residents.”
The county will place barricades at park entrances that are not already gated and electronic message boards on streets that lead to entrances of Creve Coeur Lake Park, Jefferson Barracks Park, Lone Elk Park and Grant’s Trail.
The county Parks Department will collaborate with Great Rivers Greenway to barricade and provide signage for the trail networks in County parks.
