By any measure, Dallas' Klyde Warren Park is a huge success. And there's a lot of retail, residential and commercial construction in the area due to the park's soaring popularity.
But with those crowds, some say, comes more danger.
"I think we just have to be thinking how can we calm the cars just a little bit earlier so they're not still moving by the park at near-highway speeds," said urban planner Patrick Kennedy.
There's alarming number of dangerous crashes just steps away from where children play. NBC 5 is investigating the dozens of wrecks that've happened near the park's entrances.
There have been about 50 documented crashes since the park opened four years ago.
NBC 5 reviewed police reports and records released by the Dallas Police Department. There have been at least 25 wrecks at Pearl Street, 13 at Olive Street – which cuts through the park – four at Harwood Street and six wrecks at Saint Paul Street.
A crash in late February sent four people to the hospital with serious injuries. Police say a Ford Mustang ran a red light and hit a truck. The vehicles, and lots of debris and glass, ended up in the park near Pearl Street, damaging benches and landscaping.
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Kennedy says more can be done to protect pedestrian safety.
"We really have to be more concerned with the speed, than the quantity of cars going through," he said. "They are big, wide roads. And one-way streets just sort of encourages fast-moving traffic."
Kennedy runs the Space Between Design Studio in Uptown and said he believes in more signs and barriers.
"How do we better buffer those sidewalks?" he said. "It could be bollards, it could be additional trees along the street, allowing on-street parking. But that means taking travel lanes away from cars."
"It would be a trade-off," he continued. "But a trade-off for safety."
All those crashes near the park have not hurt any park visitors.
The traffic reports reveal that many wrecks happen very late at night, with police often suspecting a drunk driver. The park is empty at those times.
But some crashes happen during rush hour, or otherwise crowded times for the park.
Megan Saucedo drove down from Frisco to have fun at the park with her two young children Friday.
"It's huge and there's a lot to do. And the quality, it's a beautiful park," she said. "There's so much to do here for the kids, especially young kids, so we thought why not?"
She was shocked by the crash data NBC 5 uncovered.
"I'm surprised by that number. You wouldn't think people would be going as fast as they're going to create a wreck here. It is very scary," she said.
She's worried about debris and glass from wrecks injuring a visitor one day.
"Cars go fast through here, and if there's wreckage, perhaps where there's debris or glass and kids are out here barefoot playing in the park, they could get hurt," she said.
Dallas leaders are considering expanding Klyde Warren Park further into downtown Dallas.
And they're debating building another highway deck park over Interstate 35E near the Dallas Zoo.
Kennedy said deck parks are great, but unless more is done to get drivers to slow down, the designs have their drawbacks.
"They're still over a highway. And a lot of people driving past them are still in a highway mindset, or about to be on a highway," he said.
"In the summer it's going to even be more crowded with children and parents crossing back and forth," Saucedo said.
Friday afternoon, Tara Green, president of Klyde Warren Park, released a statement, saying that safety of the guests is "our number one priority."
"We are aware that there have been some traffic accidents on the streets surrounding the park. We are in constant communication with the city to provide a secure environment. We encourage pedestrians and drivers alike to be cognizant of their surroundings," her statement added.
