Ascarate Park hours being shortened because of social distancing violations

EL PASO, Texas -- In a unanimous decision, El Paso County Commissioners voted Monday to shorten the hours of operation at Ascarate Park.

The new hours will now be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. rather than 5:30 a.m.- 11 p.m. The vote comes directly as a result of people in the park violating social distancing guidelines, county leaders said.

Over the weekend, park officials said they had a challenging time enforcing social distancing rules.

"On Saturday, we had 787 cars coming through and on Sunday that increased. We went to 936, just to give you an idea of how many cars are coming through and the traffic we are experiencing," Norma Rivera Palacios of the county's public works department.

The park has been open for folks looking to get exercise through the use of the walking trails or fishermen using the lake. However, the park itself had been closed since the outbreak of Covid-19 to avoid situations like what was seen over the weekend when the park reopened.

"It is unfortunate that we have issues with folks still congregating in large groups and just ask the public to continue to follow the order and make sure, " County Commissioner David Stout said.

The golf course at Ascarate Park also reopened over the weekend. Officials said the county will not be making any change to the golf course hours.