Brookmeade Park reopens with new safety features to prevent more homeless encampments

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A brand new Brookmeade Park reopened in West Nashville on Thursday morning after more than two years of renovations to repair damage from a massive homeless encampment.

The park was closed due to safety concerns, so the renovations included several additional features to prevent a new camp from starting.

There are security cameras in the parking lot and scattered across the 14-acre park’s greenways. The entrance has an electronic gate that will close every night at dusk.

READ MORE: Renovated Brookmeade Park reopens following homeless camp removal

Metro Parks Police Captain Greg Davis said officers will start their mornings by opening the park at sunrise and end their days by making sure everyone is back outside the barbed wire fence. Anyone found camping or who refuses to leave at night will be arrested for trespassing.

“We are taking the steps that we know best to keep it in the shape that it is in currently, and keep it from returning to that,” Davis said about preventing a new encampment.

Metro Police helicopters will also use infrared camera technology to search the park for any hidden encampments whenever they are flying in the area, Davis said. Their goal is to make sure the park is safe and secure for families to enjoy.

Tim Tomes and other members of the Reclaim Brookmeade Park group pushed for the changes. He said they are very excited by the improvements and are hopeful community members will feel comfortable returning to the park.

“The fact that people were losing their lives out here, in the parking lot, was heartbreaking,” Tomes said. “As we tried from the very beginning of this journey, it was about saving lives. It was about getting the predators out of here and keeping people safe.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: More than 40 homeless residents at Brookmeade Park relocated

Businesses near the park are hopeful the renovated space and new safety measures will keep the problems they faced from returning.

“When I think about making people’s homes better, I also think about the communities involved in that,” Lowe’s general manager Matt Briley said. “When you have a park like this, obviously, it brings communities together.”

The park is covered in “no camping” signs and Parks Police said they will strictly enforce the no drugs and alcohol policy that is in place across all Metro Parks locations.

Council Member Jason Spain called it “the beginning of a new chapter” for Brookmeade Park that will create a space for families to enjoy the Native American and Civil War history at the site along the Cumberland River.

The park will be open from dawn to dusk. Metro Parks is in the process of reviewing a proposal to add a disk golf course to the park.