Latest Headlines | Section of Dry Creek Community Park closed for synthetic turf installation

Matthew Bennett, Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Colo.
·2 min read

May 20—A portion of Dry Creek Community Park will be closed until the end of the year so synthetic turf can be installed.

The closure includes the park entrance, parking area, an area south of the parking lot, the multi-use sports field and cricket pitches. The section of the park that is under construction was fenced off Monday, with only work vehicles allowed in and out.

The project includes the installation of approximately 5.8 acres of synthetic turf, specifically on the multi-use sports field, as well as irrigation work, drainage, new sports lighting and a sidewalk extension, according to Longmont Parks & Natural Resources Senior Project Manager Tatiana Parfenova.

The work is slated to cost $7.6 million.

"It was real grass but it was underperforming," Parfenova said of where the synthetic turf will be installed. "The sports organizations were complaining that it's wet and not completely covered in grass. There was high salinity and high moisture. So, the turf did not grow very well there."

Parfenova said the city anticipates maintenance requirements to lessen once the synthetic turf is installed as weekly mowing, monthly aeration and weed control will no longer be needed. The cricket pitches will not get synthetic turf but will undergo overseeding as part of the project to make them denser.

The parking area will not receive any upgrades but is closed to allow access to construction vehicles and equipment.

The disc golf course and trails farther west in Dry Creek Community Park are expected to remain open but the city will notify the public if any additional closures are necessary.

Located at 1251 Grandview Meadows Drive, Dry Creek Community Park is an 81-acre park with an ADA accessible playground, restrooms, parking, walking paths, an 18-hole disc golf course, a multi-use sports field, cricket pitches and a sledding hill, according to the city's website.

The current available amenities represent phase 1 — approximately 23 acres — of the park's overall development. Future phases of construction are not currently funded in the city's 5-year capital improvement program, the website said.