They may be meeting in public locations, but they will be as discreet as possible," Griffith said.Ĭruising areas traditionally have been those parts of town "women and children are told to avoid," but through word of mouth, bathrooms at places like Wal-Mart or Home Depot can become cruising locales, he said. The vast majority have no interest in being seen. They will see each other and usually decide to go someplace else.
"They will usually go to the stall at the far end of the strip of toilets.
"Tapping of the foot is pretty standard for men who cruise in toilets," said Keith Griffith, owner of, a Web site on which visitors post locations popular with men looking for anonymous sex. In an effort to curb lewd acts in public - or as some gays argue, in an effort to persecute gay men - undercover police began sting operations in places known for sex soliciting and employed the same codes. Over time, people familiar with cruising told, gay men began using a codified system of signals to indicate to others that they were interested in sex. Public places like men's restrooms, in airports and train stations, truck stops, university libraries and parks, have long been places where gay and bisexual men, particularly those in the closet, congregate in order to meet for anonymous sex. Craig told reporters today that he did nothing inappropriate and said his guilty plea was a mistake. Those actions led to Craig's arrest by Detective Dave Karsnia and the senator's guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge. But I’m excited the city is going to revamp the park.Craig tapped his foot up and down and swiped his hand underneath the bathroom stall in which the undercover cop was sitting, according to the police report. In particular, he didn’t thinking locking the bathroom was the right solution to the problem. One resident, who now uses a dog park closer to his home and asked to have his name withheld from publication, said he’s not sure if the park will ever stop completely being a place where men come to have sex. It just needs a good overhaul,” said former mayor John Fiore about the park at a commission meeting several months ago. 19 meeting of the Recreation Advisory Board, Leisure Services Department Director Patrick Cann said that boardwalk reinforcements would be undertaken and the city would “add a fitness trail and fitness zones and improve the dog play areas while removing the underutilized features” of the park. Blocker outlined a number of efforts that have been undertaken to address the problem: locking the bathroom door, blocking off a “troublesome section of the boardwalk to mitigate unwanted lewd and sexual activity,” walking patrols of the park by police, a park ranger, and city staff, and a plan to add enhancements and programming to the park.Īccording to the minutes of the Oct.
Our work is not done until this activity ceases to exist,” wrote Assistant Police Chief Gary Blocker in an email. “The WMPD has not made any arrests at Colohatchee Park for lewd behavior or sexual acts over the last six months. Previously, officials have said that the more the park is used by dog owners, the less likely it will be used for sex.
“They seem to think they can clean it up with an event every so often,” he said, referring to the Woof & Wine events held there. Corbin criticized the city for not doing enough. That reputation has caused some residents to stop using the park.ĭomaris Cobian, a first-time park user who lives in Fort Lauderdale, said she was unaware of the park’s reputation but said she would continue to use it because it feels like a safe place.Īt a recent commission meeting, resident Boyd Corbin said he saw a man at Colohatchee masturbating. In 2006, the Sun Sentinel reported on “Operation Get-A-Room” which was an effort by police to dissuade people from using the park for sex. The park has been used as a sex rendezvous for over a decade, and even appears on a gay cruising website,, as a place with “All kinds of guys from twinks to older gents to musclemen looking for a quick blow job.” The Wilton Manors Police Department says that sexual activity at Colohatchee Park is down, but that the problem still isn’t over.