Safety plans surface after Hill shooting

Students who once felt safe walking the streets of Boulder have lost comfort in the city.

“I really don’t feel safe walking alone in Boulder anymore, especially as a girl and after all the recent events that have happened here,” CU senior Hannah Staenberg said.

Staenberg lives only a few blocks away from the scene of the murder on 10th St. and Pennsylvania Ave.

The shooting that took place on March 17 left a young man dead and another in custody.

The victim, University of New Hampshire Todd Walker, was visiting his friend in Boulder when 22-year-old Longmont resident Kevin McGregor is accused of shooting and and killing him.

McGregor has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, both charges carrying a life sentence.

The murder has left Boulder residents shaken and wanting to see a change in public safety.

Students who once felt safe walking the streets of Boulder have lost comfort in the city.

Although it is the first murder to happen on the streets of Boulder since 2002, it has prompted Boulder City Council woman Lisa Morzel to say there could be less crime if the neighborhoods were kept clean.

She says that the “slummy looking houses” contribute to students disregarding their homes and neighborhoods.

Morzel could not be reached for an interview, but CU Vice Chancellor Frank Bruno who works closely with the city, agrees that cleaning up houses on the hill could be beneficial.

“I think it makes sense that if you have an area that looks a certain way, which means run down neighborhoods, lawns that are basically non-exsistant, trash all over the neighborhood, anyone coming into that enviorment is not going to have a lot of respect for it,” Bruno said.

Some students would even agree that a cleaner house makes them feel safer.

“Last year I lived in a house that was right in the alley. There was always people walking past our windows, going through our dumpsters, and peering through our windows. I never felt safe, I always felt like someone was going to intrude,” Staenberg said.

Landlords, like Benny Swan from Fourstar on the Hill Reality, who rent houses to more than 300 students would argue that they do keep students safe.

“We do a weekly drive around and inspection of the property. A contractor does an exterior walk of the property to make sure the trash is picked up and there is no broken windows. There’s certain measures we need to take to ensure the tenants are safe,” Swan said.

Before anything is decided, the City Council will hold a public meeting this Thursday to further discuss their plans and talk to students and residents. The time and location is still unknown.