The City of Arlington Parks and Recreation Department held ribbon cutting ceremonies to dedicate its newest two parks on Saturday, April 27, officially marking the opening of Eden Park Park and Harris Road Park.
These two south Arlington park sites bring the total inventory to 99 parks in Arlington, one for every square mile of the city, covering over 4,433 acres. That figure doesn’t include the additional 4,087 acres of open space that the department maintains.
The grand openings included remarks from Mayor Jeff Williams, District 2 Councilwoman Sheri Capehart, District 3 Councilwoman Roxanne Thalman and Parks and Recreation Director Lemuel Randolph.
“On any given day, someone is being positively affected through parks and recreation – whether they are taking a walk on the trail, spending time with their kids are the park, or just reaping the benefits of clean air and water because of preserved open space,” Williams said. “The National Recreation and Park Association is built upon three main pillars of Health & Wellness, Conservation and Social Equity. These two sites and the nearly 100 other parks around Arlington accomplish all three of these goals by providing free access to health and wellness opportunities, protecting open space and connecting our children to nature.”
Arlington sets a gold standard in satisfying the recreational pursuits of its residents. Arlington ranked 25 percent above the national average in overall satisfaction with Parks and Recreation in an independent study by the ETC Institute among cities with populations of 250,000-plus.
The Arlington Parks and Recreation Department is the reigning National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Gold Medal winner as the top parks and rec agency in the country.
Residents and visitors are encouraged to view the Park Finder page of the new City website to view park locations and amenities.
Eden Park
• This neighborhood park at 1860 Mansfield Webb Road now totals 9.3 acres
• Park elements include a playground, benches, picnic pavilion, water fountain, 0.6-mile loop trail, picnic tables and grills along the trail, open play fields, wildflower meadows and landscaping.
• The original 6.3 acres of parkland was acquired in 2010. The City purchased a 3-acre private parcel to add to the site in November 2015.
• Total construction cost, funded through park development fees, was $1,021,692.
Harris Road Park
• This neighborhood park at 907 W. Harris Road totals 12.1 acres
• Park amenities include playground area with swings and playground equipment for two age groups - 2-5 years and 5-12 years. Play equipment has integral shade canopies. Located within the shade trees, this nature-themed playground offers several nature components and musical instruments for children to experience.
• The playground equipment is also integrated with educational nature panels. The playground area leads to the "nature path" (decomposed - granite) walkway through the shade areas to offer varied play opportunities.
• An 8-foot wide hike and bike concrete loop trail surrounds the park. Benches and picnic tables are located along the path and around the playground area.
• Other park elements include a water fountain, new park monument sign, irrigated open space areas, landscape improvements, parking lot with lighting and accessible parking, and automated access gate for security.
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