Henderson Park overhaul, Lawson Creek marsh walk top New Bern summer recreation projects
An approximately $300,000 project to substantially upgrade Henderson Park in New Bern’s Duffyfield community is the highlight of a summer that will see enhancements to parks throughout the city.
According to City Manager Foster Hughes, a project to install a new, full-length basketball court at Henderson Park has been completed. The new court is on the exact site where the former Stanley White Recreation Center basketball court was located before the historic facility was demolished after being flooded during Hurricane Florence, leaving only the concrete foundation pad.
Hughes said the city is preparing to put in four outdoor lights on the basketball court and has ordered bleachers that will go around the perimeter.
“If you played basketball at the recreation center when it was open you’ll be playing basketball on the same court,” Hughes said.
On the remaining surface of the original concrete pad, the city plans to create a play area featuring what Hughes described as “blacktop games” such as four square, tic tac toe, twister and hopscotch in addition to learning trails.
“It will just be a variety of things that kids can enjoy,” Hughes noted.
Other improvements to Henderson Park will include a 20x30 foot expansion to the existing playground with updated amenities; an updated fitness court; new restrooms; and a 30x65 foot shelter.
“One of the things we wanted to do was have a larger shelter that could be a gathering place more centrally located to the parking lot and that could also double as a farmers market or any other type of market the community wants to see,” Hughes said.
The city also plans to expand the parking area and resurface Henderson Park’s existing lot to make the area more accessible to larger vehicles, such as vendor trucks.
The Henderson Park improvements come courtesy of FEMA funding the city applied for to update the aging recreation area, which dates back to 1980.
Hughes said the city’s parks and recreation staff will be making the upgrades throughout the summer and fall as the city receives the new equipment.
“We’re at the mercy of the folks we’re purchasing these things from,” Hughes said. “We’re installing all of this in-house so as soon as we get things in we’re working on that.”
The city is also seeking grant funding to make improvements to the canal around Henderson Park.
“That will be a considerable amount of money that we’ll be putting into that, also,” Hughes said.
Marsh walk extension, holiday surprise coming to New Bern parks
Among the other notable upgrades coming over the summer, Hughes said a CAMA grant for more than $100,000 will be used to extend the marsh walk at Lawson Creek Park to bring it closer to the river.
A new community center at Pleasant Hill Park is expected to be finished by the end of the summer, Hughes said, while new picnic shelters and swings are planned for Monk Mallard, Fort Totten, and Union Point parks.
Looking beyond the summer, Hughes said the city has a holiday surprise in store in the form of a temporary addition to Union Point Park.
“We’re going to bring in ice skating for the holidays, so we’ll have a 40x60 foot ice skating rink that will be in front of the restrooms in the open space,” Hughes said. “We'll start that up right around Thanksgiving and be adding some additional holiday lighting in the park as well.”
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Henderson Park overhaul, Lawson Creek marsh walk top city rec projects
