Column: Too easy to neglect redevelopment of park

Daily Journal

The Greenwood swimming pool is gone, and the site in Pool Park on Lincoln Street is being prepared for potential redevelopment.

The latest proposal comes from Mayor Mark Myers, who would like to see the city park department create a splash pad area for children that would include streaming jets of water and mushroom showers. His proposal also calls for new playground equipment to help spruce up the park in the city’s Old Town area.

Greenwood tore out the pool and most of the parking lot this summer after removing tennis courts and a slide in recent years. Pool Park is now is a big dirt field with a restroom, a basketball court and a swing set.

Residents who live near Pool Park have said they don’t want to see it neglected or fall into further disrepair.

Neither do we. Neglecting the area would be detrimental to the neighborhood and a waste of a community asset.

Myers said Greenwood officials made promises to overhaul the park into something more attractive after the 55-year-old pool’s closing and should uphold its commitment. He said Old Town residents still need a place they can walk to because a new pool might be built in Freedom Park in the southwestern side of the city.

Families wouldn’t have to pay to use the spray pad, which would be unattended and activated by a button that kids or their parents would press to turn on the water nozzles. Lifeguards aren’t needed since there’s no standing water or swimming, Myers said.

This story appears in the print edition of Daily Journal. Subscribers can read the entire story online by signing in here or in our e-Edition by clicking here.