Wheat Ridge, Colorado — Every month, Wheat Ridge Police Community Service Officers work with the Colorado Department of Transportation to clean a part of the Interstate 70 highway.
On Wednesday morning, police discovered multiple illegal camps under the I-70 bridge over Clear Creek in the Wheat Ridge greenway.
“There’s also some other environmental and health concerns with maybe some of the activity going on in some of these areas,” said Alex Rose, a spokesperson for the Wheat Ridge Police Department. “For example, we found a small chimney under one of the bridges, which made the area underneath the bridge very burnt.”
Many signs say camping is not allowed in the parking places or along the trail, but WRPD mentioned that the cleanups are about more than just people breaking the rules.
“Rose said it is a safety issue for the public.” “Just one car crash on I70, which happens often, could lead to problems for someone trying to live next to the highway.”
Rose said that through these cleanups, they want to help people in these areas find the tools they need.
“We don’t want to completely change everything happening in these areas.” We want to make sure that we’re connecting folks with resources,” Rose said.
He mentioned that the city has a Navigation Program that has helped 150 people find temporary or permanent homes since 2020. Before the cleanup, city officials sent a housing helper to the area to inform people.
“If someone is dealing with mental health problems, health issues, or having trouble finding a place to live in this market, we can help connect them with the right resources for better solutions,” Rose said.
WRPD said that during the cleanups, they not only provide resources but also find and identify people who might not have asked for help originally.
“We spoke to someone who showed clear signs of frostbite in both feet. If we don’t do these cleanups, we might not find people like them who need medical help. If they don’t get help in time, their condition could get worse,” Rose said.
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