Close Canyon Lake Parks, Former San Antonio Councilman Advises Commissioners
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Former San Antonio Councilman Carlton Soules, who owns property on River Road, told county commissioners yesterday they should close Canyon Lake-area parks over the next two weeks to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Comal County.
Speaking at Commissioners Court on Thursday, April 3, Soules said he’s seen gatherings at campgrounds and venues on River Road increasing in frequency and size recently.
“That is a concern, but my primary concern is this upcoming Easter holiday,” he said. “When you look at San Antonio at Brackenridge Park and the other parks, the tradition is mass gatherings, thousands of people camping out, those parks have since been shut, and my concern is that there are a great number of people who do not care about social distancing that will be descending upon the River Road and the campgrounds in order to hold their family traditions. Now, lots of problems arise from that as we reach into the peak of this epidemic.”
Soules said campgrounds are not sanitary because they share common bathrooms and picnic tables. An influx of visitors from San Antonio and the Houston area will put sheriff’s deputies and Fire/EMS personnel at greater risk.
“The next thing is, people step on glass,” he said. “People burn themselves. They drink too much, they get food poisoning, they end up in the emergency room in our medical clinics. I urge Comal County commissioners to consider putting a moratorium on camping and tubing at least through the next two weekends just so we don’t bring this into our community.
“I would hate to be watching KENS 5 or KSAT 12 and we’re the next beach where all of a sudden tens of thousands of people are gathered and they shouldn’t be gathered. So I greatly request that you consider this. I think it would be a prudent action on the court. I understand it is a burden on some of the businesses, but lots of businesses are suffering right now.”
On Wednesday, April 1, Krause said Comal County Sheriff’s Office deputies will begin enforcing pre-existing rules for county-owned boat ramps this weekend.
Boat ramps can only be used to launch and recover boats, not as gathering places or entry points to the lake shore.
PLEASE CLOSE ALL THESE PARKS. KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE! Also, the tubing issue needs to be addressed. We will have an influx of tubers from all over the US coming in and this is not acceptable at this time! Please keep us safe!