Lexington plans ‘historic’ spending on recreation. Where $24M is headed for parks
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During the height of coronavirus restrictions in late March 2020, Lexington city officials learned quickly how important parks and green spaces were to people.
The parks became so crowded the city had to shut down many sport courts and playgrounds to enforce 6 feet of physical distancing recommended by health officials at the beginning of the pandemic.
“What we learned during the pandemic is the city’s parks are an amenity that everyone benefits from,” said Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton. “That’s why we have made parks and green spaces a priority.”
The city has allocated $24.6 million of Lexington’s $121 million in federal coronavirus relief money to upgrade and update the city’s parks and construct a new 137-acre park, called Cardinal Run North.
Of the $24.6 million, $4.5 million was allocated as part of Gorton’s current-year budget. Another $20.1 million has been set aside this year.
More than $10 million will go to pay for multiple park improvements that were recommended as part of a 2018 parks master plan. The other $10 million will develop Cardinal Run North, off Parkers Mill Road. It is the first new community park in decades.
“We decided to invest in neighborhoods,” said Monica Conrad, director of Lexington Parks and Recreation. “These are the parks that everyone utilized during the pandemic.”
All projects have to be completed by December 2026 under American Rescue Plan Act guidelines.
The $10 million to address needs in the parks will go to those projects the master plan indicates are the highest priorities, said Michelle Kosieniak, superintendent of planning and design for Lexington parks. Kosieniak, who has been at the parks department since 1997, said it’s the largest one-time influx of cash in parks in decades.
“This is a historic, once-in-a-generation investment in parks,” she said. “ It touches everyone in the city.”
The largest new community park in decades
Long on the city’s to-do list was the development of Cardinal Run North off of Parkers Mill. The city acquired the land through a donation in 1997. It developed Cardinal Run South, which is home to baseball and softball leagues, in the 2000s. But the city never had the money to develop Cardinal Run North near Versailles and New Circle Road.
In late May, the city selected Brandstetter Carroll to design the new park.
After a design firm is selected, there will be opportunities for public input, said Kosieniak. That will happen this summer.
From getting public input during the development of the 2018 master plan, the city knows trails and trail systems in parks is a top priority for the public. Some preliminary designs for Cardinal Run North include trails, multiple sports courts, restroom facilities and parking. However, the design won’t be finalized until the city gets more feedback from the public, Kosienack said.
“The vision is that this is a community park with lots of different features to serve everyone,” Kosienack said. “We will be focusing on those neighborhoods closest to the park to get their input.”
A final park plan will likely be unveiled sometime in January, she said.
Construction will likely be completed in 2023, Kosienack said. The park will likely open sometime in 2024.
Trails, community centers, playgrounds, repairing sports courts
When the city developed its parks master plan in 2018, it asked Lexington residents what they wanted.
“The number one item was trails,” Conrad said.
To that end, the city is spending more than $1 million building new trails and fixing older ones, including:
- $500,000 for Jacobson Park for a trail being planned by the state along the front of the park
- $150,000 for Masterson Park for a paved trail connector from the end of Town Branch Trail at at front of the playground and sprayground area
- $200,000 for Raven Run for a paved trail around the meadow and Nature Center to make it American with Disabilities Act accessible
- $125,000 for Whitney Young Park for paved multiple use trails
- $100,000 for Gainesway Park for necessary repairs
- $100,000 for Wildwood Park for necessary repairs
The city has been short on cash in recent years, and parks have built up a long list of capital needs and improvements, Conrad said.
“We have a lot of sports courts in deteriorating conditions,” Conrad said.
Some of the $24 million will go toward improvements, repairs or replacements of basketball courts at Berry Hill Park, Mary Todd Park, Marlboro Park, Meadowbrook, Pine Meadows, Lansdowne Merrick and Dogwood Trace.
Pickleball is gaining in popularity. The city now needs more pickle ball courts, Conrad said.
The former pool area at Picadome will get four new pickleball courts. Two tennis courts at Constitution Park will be moved and three pickleball courts will be added there.
The city is also spending $1.65 million repairing tennis courts at Shillito, Woodland and Mount Tabor parks.
Also on the city’s to-do list is replacing aging playgrounds or putting play equipment in parks that don’t have any.
Trailwood Park in the McConnell’s Trace neighborhood will get some new playground equipment. Woodland Park, which recently had its playgrounds replaced, still has a portion that needs to be completed, Kosienack said.
In addition, the city is replacing 20-year-old playgrounds in the following parks:
- Elizabeth Street Park
- Duncan Park
- Meadowthorpe Park
- Mary Todd Park
- Masterson Station Park (completion of final phase of playground replacement)
- Pine Meadows Park
- Gardenside Park
Many of the city’s community centers also need repairs.
Dunbar Community Center, at 545 North Upper St., will be getting $1.3 million of improvements, including a new roof, updated bathrooms to make it American with Disabilities Act complaint, new windows and a new heating and air conditioning unit.
Valley Neighborhood Center in Valley Park off of Cambridge Drive will get an expansion that will double its programming spaces.
“It’s one of our most used parks,” Conrad said.
Other big-ticket improvements include a $525,000 restroom facility under construction at Woodland Park, $300,000 for a new restroom and concession stand at Ecton Park and $1.8 million to repair and replace equipment and water features at the city’s six pools.
Rising costs for all materials and supply-chain hiccups have also affected timelines for all the projects, Conrad cautioned.
“We will make improvements in all areas of the city,” Conrad said. “But some of the features may change depending on costs.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 9:47 AM.
