Park’s spray pad a hit with kids

LITTLE ROCK — A dozen children escaped the heat Wednesday as they splashed, jumped, shrieked and climbed through water sprays and over boulder mountains built by the Little Rock Department of Parks and Recreation.

The children were the first group to use the newly finished splash pad at War Memorial Park as city officials and staff members dedicated the newamenities and opened them to the public. The playground is just one of several changes paid for with $1.2 million from the 2009 refinancing of a 1998 $6.8 million parks bond.

“This is another milestone of positioning our park system as one of the best in the country,” said Truman Tolefree, director of the city’s Parks Department. “It took thousands of staff hours ... and I’m glad to be here to witness a dream turning into a reality.”

The changes completed so far include turning the former playground space into a multiuse green space, dredging a former pond and turning it into a water feature on the golf course, taking out the old tennis courts, constructing more walking trails and building two tennis courts. Other changes include reconfiguring several golf course holes to expand playground areas, renovating the park pavilion,creating a new entrance on Markham Street and renovating the playground equipment. The spray pad area is part of the playground changes.

War Memorial Park consists of 200 acres between Markham Street and Interstate 630. The park includes 90 acres of golf course, the Little Rock Zoo and War Memorial Stadium.

A plan to update the park’s community amenities began in 2004, said Ward 3 City Director Stacy Hurst. A consultant was hired in 2006 and, after three community meetings attended by more than 100 residents each, three comprehensive options for updating the park were developed.

The city focused on a plan that would allow the park to be updated in stages with the first stage using the $1.2 million in bond refinancing money. The next phase will include acquiring land on Van Buren Street to enhance the park’s entrance, improving the Jonesboro Drive entrance off of 12th Street, restoring Coleman Creek and adding a half-mile of asphalt walking trails, Hurst said.

“We’ve made War Memorial Park - a 200-acre, centrally located, open space - a park that can be enjoyed by even more people,” Hurst said.

She said the department was able to stretch the funding by doing much of the work itself. The department paid a consultant to build a splash pad at Riverfront Park, but used onsite materials at War Memorial Park to construct the boulder climb with different skill levels for different ages of children and to build a series of caves, complete with misting nozzlesand other amenities, to allow children to take a break from the sun.

“People may look at this and see bricks and mortar ... but I see creativity and resourcefulness,” said Don Evans, acting chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission. “Thedepartment has worked for years with almost no budget to make improvements to the parks. To paraphrase ... never have too few, done so much with so little.”

Evans and Mayor Mark Stodola mentioned that the citywide sales tax passed last year has made the improvements and planned improvements possible.

Stodola said many of therenovations will improve the overall image of the city and contribute to the quality of life for residents.

“Voters understood the need to balance public safety with public works and parks and recreation,” he said. “These are the kinds of things that make people want to stay and put down roots ... make them want to bring their families and move to Little Rock.”