BOULDER, Colo. — The Regional Transportation District has installed security cameras aimed at protecting cars inside a Boulder Park-N-Ride garage that is a hotspot for catalytic converter theft.
This comes more than nine months after Denver7 Investigates first highlighted the thefts at this and other RTD property in both Denver and Boulder. The Table Mesa Park-N-Ride, where the new cameras were just installed in December,saw a reported 88 catalytic converter thefts over a 12-month period in 2021-22.
During Denver7 Investigates’ initial reporting, it was revealed that the Park-N-Ride did have some security cameras, but they were pointed toward stairwells and elevators rather than at parking areas.
Bill Enyart, who had his catalytic converter stolen at the Table Mesa Park-N-Ride in February 2022, said he is happy with the change.
“It gives them a shot at catching the bad guys,” he said. “It’s great.”
Enyart contacted Denver7 Investigates last year, shortly after his catalytic converter was stolen. He also had seen a high number of reports of similar incidents on the Nextdoor website.
New RTD Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald, who was appointed in August, inherited the issue and said previous reports highlighted the need for change at the Table Mesa Park-N-Ride.
Now, there are more than two dozen cameras to monitor cars on every floor that are monitored in a control room and an additional camera monitoring all license plates as vehicles leave the garage. New signs also alert potential thieves that they are on camera.
“It’s incumbent upon us to listen, to take the feedback, whether we get it from (the media) or we get it directly from the customer and try to do the best things we can to mitigate the possibility that someone would be the victim of crime,” Fitzgerald said.
RTD has also increased security patrols of the Table Mesa Park-N-Ride, including inspections of cars to identify possible risks. Officers leave a “vehicle report card” on windshields. Since the installation of the new cameras in December, Fitzgerald said there has been just one reported theft of a catalytic converter.
“I think it’s going to help a lot. I think nowadays those changes are significant,” Enyart said of the changes. “I’m really happy. I want to commend and applaud RTD for what they’ve done. I think it’s fantastic. I think the measures there are bound to help make this parking garage safer for people.”
