Round Rock, private entities plan expansion of local park

Play for All Park could double in size and add new features and parking if city officials and private donors succeed in their goal of raising funds for the planned expansion. The entities behind the project held a kickoff event Aug. 3 to raise awareness for the plans.

Wag-A-Bag co-owner Nancy Rabb, who donated the land on which the park was built with her son Carry, said the expansion is necessary for the increasing number of visitors to the park—both those with special needs and without.

“My late husband, Virg Rabb, said, ‘If the city had this land, they could do something wonderful with it,’” she said. “And that’s what happened: The city has done something wonderful.”

The expansion will include adding an adventure area and a hill with a climbing net, which children can climb and play on; a wheelchair-friendly track built with a Formula One-themed racetrack and pit stop; a nature area expansion, which will provide a space for children to play with natural elements such as logs and boulders; a shaded picnic area; and an additional parking lot to accommodate cars and buses.

The city wants to build the second phase of the park by next summer, said Roger Heaney, marketing specialist for the Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department. He said officials want to raise about $300,000, and they will look at what features they can add once the funds are raised. The city has already received commitments from private organizations and individuals, many of whom want to remain anonymous, Heaney said. Nancy Rabb said the goal is to raise the funds within six months.

“We hope the community will all get behind it,” she said. “The sooner we get it open the better because it serves so many people.”

City Council has committed to helping fund the expansion.

“We can make this happen,” Mayor Pro Tem Craig Morgan said. “We are known for this, so let’s contribute; let’s be good partners; let’s make it happen.”

Businesses, families, and individual donors can visit www.play4all.org to make online tax-deductible donations toward the park expansion or download contribution forms.