Dallas officials warned Sunday that if people continue to overcrowd its parks and trails — ignoring social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic — the city could close all of them.

The city is prepared to take that “drastic step” immediately if people won’t comply with rules that require 6 feet of space between individuals, according to a news release from the city’s Park and Recreation department.

Two popular parks, the Katy Trail and White Rock Lake, are getting the most increased use, according to the city.

Christina Martinez (left) walked with neighbor and friend Teresa Rodriguez at Bachman Lake on March 29, 2020, in Dallas. Martinez said she is doing her best to adhere to the social-distancing rules and wears a mask when she goes out. (Juan Figueroa/ The Dallas Morning News) (Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)

If overcrowding continues, park officials could close all trails and 397 parks across the city.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Twitter that the White Rock Lake loop and the Katy Trail were too crowded Saturday.

“Way too many people for safe social distancing!” he said. “Enjoy the outdoors, but don’t go today or any day to trails if you can’t keep 6 feet distance at all times.”

Park rangers are monitoring parks and trails to enforce gaps among visitors. The city’s Code Enforcement and Parking Enforcement departments, and the Dallas Marshal’s Office, will help.

Enforcement officers were stationed along the Katy Trail on Sunday to encourage walkers, joggers and cyclists to obey the 6-foot requirements.

“The officers are being deployed throughout our park system, in particular with trails or parks where we’re observing folks who are not adhering to social distancing," interim Park and Recreation director John D. Jenkins said.

The enforcement began last week at parks and trails in the city, Jenkins said. The officers, who hold up signs reminding visitors to maintain boundaries, will remain along the trail every day until sundown during the shelter-in-place order.

First pic below is @BachmanLake . Last 3 @NorthhavenTrail. I jumped on my bike and went to see other parks myself after hearing of @whiterockdallas @KatyTrail overcrowding. Good fact finding and exercise. There are trails and neighborhoods that aren’t crowded. Find them. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/j6rW5pwBJ4 — Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) March 29, 2020

The Park and Recreation Department is also trying to limit crowding at parks with barricades at entrances and limits on vehicle traffic.

“We just want to just make sure we educate folks because that would be my last option, to have to shut down the trails and the parks,” Jenkins said. “We do recognize that folks need an opportunity to get out, but we need them to really alleviate the overcrowding on White Rock Lake and the Katy Trail.”

The extra precautions follow Dallas County’s shelter-in-place order that went into effect March 24, which requires residents to stay at home through April 3. It also placed further emphasis on social distancing.

Some have suggested the 6-foot standard may be inadequate in some circumstances.

Sports cardiologist Benjamin Levine, a professor of medicine at UT Southwestern and Texas Health Presbyterian, said people who are running with others probably should double the recommended distance because of the increase in the amount of air they’re breathing in and out.

Levine, the director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, said people need to observe safe boundaries.

“It’s not the time to be running hand in hand,” he said.

Sam Perry, 26, and her boyfriend, Geoffrey Kern, 31, were walking their dog, Ozzy, when they noticed the enforcement officers Sunday.

Perry said closing trails and parks would be disappointing because that would indicate people were not “respecting the seriousness of it all.”

“I think it would be a shame because you see people cooped up inside all day, and that obviously has its effects,” she said. “But I mean you gotta do what you need to do to keep the city safe."

The city has received hundreds of calls about large gatherings, showing that not everyone is following the new social-distancing rules.

Earlier this month, a photo on the Katy Trail Facebook page showed dozens of people on the trail, many not maintaining 6 feet of space.

“This is NOT Social Distancing,” the post read.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.