SCRANTON, Pa. — Within the past week, Scranton city workers have placed signs all over Nay Aug Park's Davis Trail.
The trail winds around Nay Aug Gorge and the signs warn would-be swimmers of a $300 fine for going in the water.
But, visitors to the park don't think the fine is enough of a deterrent.
"I don't know if anyone is even checking down there, and if there is they're going to have to walk down the trail. So, I think people are pretty confident they'd be able to get away with it," said Cam Welsh of Springville.
Now, the city has also installed security cameras near the gorge.
The video is monitored around the clock at Scranton Police Headquarters and officers are dispatched when trespassers are caught on camera.
Mayor Paige Cognetti told Newswatch 16 the new security measures were put in place, in part, due to a drowning at the gorge just last month.
"We were already having discussions but that accelerated our plans. We put in three cameras, those cameras are monitored by the Scranton Police Department. The citations and fines have always been in place, but that fine of $300 for swimming is something that we actually have been enforcing much more since the summer has begun," Cognetti said.
The new cameras have already resulted in close to a dozen citations.
"There's kids that don't want to listen, that just want to go down there, who don't care about the rules. But, personally, I wouldn't want to go down there anymore," said Grasyn Bushnell of Dimock.
City officials recognize that illegal swimming in the gorge may be an even bigger problem this year as the city's pools will remain closed this summer due to the pandemic.
But, Cognetti said the gorge has proven to be too dangerous time and time again.
"I understand why it's tempting but there are plenty of other ways to have fun. 52 people have died at the Nay Aug Gorge since they began tracking it. That's a death count that's very very tragic and we don't want to see number 53 happen," she said.
