Denver Parks & Recreation — Local services in Denver

After the deep budget cuts in early 2024 I was attacked by member Gary Gaston and then attacked by staff Dave Lynch. Front desks were not staffed. I complained and got a 1-month suspension from all rec centers, all parks, and prohibited from viewing a recreational activity from Leslie Pickard and John Martinez. I recorded everything and always record when dealing with DPR because they LIE! Pickard called Denver Police when I stood in a park and she wanted me arrested and put in jail for standing in a park!!!! After I informed Jolon Cowardly Clark, $170K per year, that I was disabled, he ghosted me and never responded to my many requests for help. Cowardly Clark hates the disabled. I emailed Mayor Johnston and he doesn't care. I tried to get DPR public records under CORA but Cowardly Clark and Arthur Gatekeeper Gilkison refuse to give me DPR public records because I want to investigate their corruption. I recorded a Pickleball Rule Change Meeting 2/7/25 under Freedom of the Press. Set-up Sam Benavidez felt uncomfortable and gave me a 3-month suspension from all parks, all rec centers, and cannot view a recreational activity for exercising my 1st Amendment. John Martinez and Scott Gilmore laugh that all they do is golf all day and the each make over $185K. Such corruption and PRAB knows all about it and they do nothing. Denver City Council Flor Avlidez was also emailed and no help there either. Nothing was done about Gaston and then he assaulted me in Huston Lake...

Denver Mountain Parks splashed their wonderful new bike path all over the internet in 2016 touting how much safer it would be for cyclists. Problem is, they don't maintain it at all, so during the winter it takes months for the snow and ice to melt off, causing cyclists to ride on 70 next to cars doing 65+ mph, debris on the shoulder, etc. This is why the path was built in first place, but it's useless if it's not plowed or maintained! The picture is a piece of the path that's completely in the sun; the shaded points (which is most of the trail past Beaver Brook) is still completely covered in snow and ice. This is unacceptable; this renders the path useless for half the year!

As a side note, for those of you complaining about a Ranger making sure you leash your dog or stay on trail, that is their JOB. I’m glad they are ticketing you for the sake of people who live here and follow the laws. The leashes are for safety of your dog and others, and they built the trails for you to walk on; leave the rest of the land alone. There's sensitive plants on the land and erosion happens when people cut trails. Especially if you come from out of state, respect the laws or leave. There's reasons they exist. Not sure why you are on a hiking trail if you want to walk around in cactus and plants with rattlesnakes. And, there are off-leash dog parks if Fido needs...

Wow do park rangers like MICHAEL RIED love to harass pickleball players giving out needless tickets while drugs are being consumed and sold all around the park. Instead of reporting the homeless encampment INSIDE the park that was also openly consuming drugs he decided to give out a dog off leash ticket when the only other people in the park were the ones in the homeless encampment. This is becoming targeted harassment at this point.

Denver Parks are Rec and rangers like MICHAEL RIED abuse and harass tax paying citizens by taking away pickleball courts that had approved permits and funding in rich white neighborhoods (I.e, Congress Park, Sloans Lake, and Eisenhower) because of the noise but are happy to put in more courts just as close to houses in predominantly black and brown neighborhoods (I.e., MLK and Huston Lake) which some might argue is a racists practice (a new version of redlining poorer neighborhoods in Denver??). They take away off leash dog parks and then hire more park rangers to police the parks and hand out tickets for off leash dogs but are willing to ignore the drugs and crime also going on around them.

I guess the tax paying citizens of Denver can rest easy at night knowing Denver parks are safe for their children to play in since all the dogs...