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Danville residents can choose from a variety of city parks, but it’s not unusual to see empty playgrounds just about any time of the day — even during the summer break from school.

City crews keep the parks well-maintained. They cut grass regularly, keep trash containers empty and make repairs quickly should something need to be fixed. Picnic tables and other equipment stay in good shape.

The parks are located throughout the city, with the Liberty, Cannon, Garfield, Lincoln, Meade, Douglas and Ellsworth sites all offering opportunities for picnics and recreation.

But with the exception of the splash parks, few people take advantage of these green assets.

One of the reasons might be a fear of something bad happening to visitors. With shooting and other violent incidents common across the country, people have become much more conscious about their safety. The playground areas at several of the parks can feel isolated at times, possibly prompting people to just stay away in order to stay safe.

City officials could consider installing a feature common on college campuses — including Danville Area Community College — in an effort to erase those feelings of potential danger.

In 2021, Purdue University added another 50 of the iconic emergency call boxes to bring the total to about 300 on its campus. The press of a button puts a person in instant contact with public safety personnel and a bright, blue light begins flashing at the top of the call box.

“We find that parents and students love them — knowing there is an added layer of safety,” said Song Kang, captain of special services for the Purdue Police Department, in a 2021 article in Campus Safety magazine.

A student at the University of Southern California showed the call boxes attracted more people to the areas near their locations because the people felt safer with the devices nearby.

In these days of inexpensive high-resolution video, the level of safety could be increased even more by installing cameras at playground areas in addition to the call boxes.

City officials already have a program to recruit residents with security cameras to assist police when incidents occur. Adding a system of call boxes and security cameras in city parks would help deter problems, encourage more people to use the parks and add even more resources for police investigations.

Luckily, Danville has few problems in its parks. Encouraging more people to come out and enjoy the resources their tax dollars help support might change that statistic. Adding the extra “layer of safety,” as the Purdue official termed the call boxes, would allow visitors to stay safe while having fun.

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