Plans to bring a sprayground to Riverside Park have been pushed back to next year.
Earlier hopes of installing the facility by late this summer proved to be too ambitious, necessitating the schedule change, said Parks & Recreation Director Kay Frazier.
“We just weren’t able to move as quickly as we hoped,” she said. “Our desire was bigger than what we could achieve.”
The new expected opening date is spring 2010. Frazier said she hopes to be able to begin construction in January.
The sprayground, a type of aquatic playground, is fully funded.
The Junior League of Lynchburg is footing most of the bill through a $125,000 donation that was formally presented during a groundbreaking ceremony in June. The city plans to contribute about $28,000 to pay the remaining costs.
Frazier said her office is finalizing its order for the sprayground equipment now and preparing to hire a company to do the related utility work.
Preliminary drawings of the site showed a colorful center structure raining water down from multiple points in jets and sheets. Water would also shoot up from the ground at several points. Additional features could be added later if funding becomes available, Frazier said.
The sprayground, which has been under consideration for several years, is part of the 2008 master plan for Riverside Park.
A sprawling space off Rivermont Avenue, the park offers a walking trail, basketball and tennis courts, and several historical exhibits. It has been underutilized in recent years, a problem the city hopes to address by adding new amenities, improving existing facilities, and installing signage to make the points of interest easier to find.
Parks & Recreation currently has $181,000 in local money to work on phase one of the master plan, which includes the sprayground and updating the existing playground.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement