This park is a very welcome addition to this area. There are very few places close by to walk, so the park with it's 1.3 mile loop is great.The playground and skate park also seem very popular.
Sadly, there are some negatives as well that have more to do with the design and management. First impression from watching it being built was that they clear-cut a beautiful piece of land. From what I can tell, there is not one old growth tree left except on the fringes that were not built out. This is not an uncommon practice around here, but it is very disappointing that the designers cannot find a way to incorporate the native trees.After all, they were not under any constraint to get as many houses sited as possible.
Second big concern is the lack of a traffic light to access Hwy.20, which is exceedingly busy most of the day. Taking a left turn out of the park can be challenging. I am frankly surprised the county takes such a cavalier attitude about traffic signals and signage in any number of places around the area. But, to build a major park and then make leaving via the ONLY exit be on to a state highway without traffic control seems irresponsible.
The traffic pattern in the park is mysterious too. One concerning aspect is the thru traffic past the playground. Since this playground is not at a dead end in the park, cars fly by the parked cars of people using the playground. The problem is that very small children are darting around between these vehicles that are mostly speeding to the playing fields. I greatly fear there is going to a real tragedy in this spot.
I am only there to walk, so I have no real insight into a lot of the amenities. But as an almost daily walker I wish a few things were better thought out. One, since there is no dog park, the path has become very popular with dog walkers. This is fine, but many people are not cleaning up behind their pets and some don't bother to use a leash. I have also seen people letting their dogs on to the playing fields, which is usually not acceptable, but since there are no real apparent rules, its just is going to happen. Warn your kids playing sports to watch their step.
Bikes and skateboards are also on this trail and I have had several close calls with them coming up from behind, usually fast. I don't guess anything can be done to help with this, but in other county parks they direct bikes to go one way, walkers the other. At least you would see what's coming.
On a lesser note, about two weeks ago with the weather still quite mild, park management decided to close most of the rest rooms. As can be imagined, this is not making the park very "user friendly" and makes one wonder why brand new rest rooms could not be designed to handle year round temperatures. I know it is very difficult for those using the playground.
Hopefully these and a few other issues are just indicative of a project in progress. The potential is for a really great county asset that can be enjoyed by...
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