New playgrounds, exercise equipment and a pickleball court are some of the new facilities coming next year to Cedar Brake Park in Montgomery as part of more than $700,000 in budgeted improvements.
Diving in deeper
Montgomery officials are planning to replace some of the city's aging playground equipment. The City Council on Oct. 27 heard a presentation on what’s coming next year to the five-acre park. The improvements are already approved in Montgomery’s current budget.
Two playgrounds at Cedar Brake Park, one meant for kids ages 2-5 and another for kids ages 5-12, will be completely replaced. There’ll be new swings, slides, climbing elements, instruments to bang on and more accessible play features for children who use wheelchairs, according to Tim Duckworth, a sales associate for Cunningham Recreation who gave the presentation to the council.
“The reason why the little kids don’t use the park right now is because our equipment is old, dilapidated and it’s almost dangerous,” said council member Casey Olson. “So the only way to fix that is to put nicer, new stuff in.”
Several park favorites will remain in the transition to new equipment, according to Duckworth. Many of the trees near the existing playgrounds, the sandbox and a popular tunnel that kids crawl through are staying. The tunnel will get drainage improvements and be remade with turf, Duckworth said, helping lower the maintenance needs for the area.
For other parkgoers, a new pickleball court will be added to Cedar Brake Park and an exercise equipment area will replace the volleyball court.
“There’s a lot of people that have asked for a pickleball court,” Olson said. ”The one thing I know about pickleball is that any age can play it.”
Duckworth said there’s a lot of work that needs to happen at that park before the new playgrounds are ready for the public. Crews will need to demolish the old equipment, excavate the land, install the new equipment and pour new concrete, he said.
The equipment, once ordered, isn’t expected to arrive until March or April, which will be followed by some construction time, Duckworth said.
Also on the agenda
The city council approved entering into an escrow agreement with Lowe’s Home Improvement, which is planning to acquire and develop land located between C.B. Stewart Drive and Buffalo Spring Road for a future store. The escrow agreement calls for Lowe’s to reimburse the city for any costs the latter incurs while overseeing development.
A 7Brew Coffee shop at Eva Street and Buffalo Springs Drive was approved by the council to move forward.
The city’s engineering consultant will commence an analysis for future wastewater plant capacity needs. The city is expected to build a new facility in the next few years, according to a staff report.
