EVERETT — Hillary Edwards didn’t used to take her kids to Lions Park.
She described the old Pinehurst Neighborhood park, with its thick foliage and dated playground equipment, as dark and depressing.
“It didn’t feel as safe,” she said.
She’s had a change of heart after visiting the park Friday.
Lions Park at 7530 Cascade Drive re-opened recently after a nearly $1 million renovation. The 3-acre park features new playground equipment, an open grassy field and lots of new shrubs and trees. The sidewalks are twice as wide, and it’s now more accessible to those with disabilities.
It feels like a different place, Edwards said. She and her family lolled on the newly planted grass eating sandwiches. Her son, 4-year-old Nolan, could hardly wait to try out the space-age-looking playground equipment.
“I feel like I could put my kids in the stroller and walk here,” she said. “I’m extremely excited.
Lions Park hasn’t had a substantial upgrade since the early 1970s, said Paul Kaftanski, Everett Parks and Recreation director.
It’s a well-used park that serves a nearby neighborhood and a Boys &Girls Club.
The park feels more open and airy, partly because the city got rid of the ball field, bathrooms and overgrown plants. Now native trees and shrubs provide some shade but don’t take over the park. Workers also leveled some areas.
The city got rid of the ball field because it no longer met Little League standards and wasn’t used much, he said. The field was replaced with open grassy space, something Everett residents have said they want in park surveys.
“Now you can throw down a blanket or play Frisbee,” he said.
The city also decided to remove the bathrooms, something it’s doing at all neighborhood parks around the city. These smaller parks are intended to serve people in a half-mile radius, and the assumption is people won’t stay as long, Kaftanski said.
The half-basketball court remains and the playground area quadrupled in size. The Pinehurst-Beverly Park Neighborhood Association helped the city pick out the equipment they wanted.
“We don’t want to build something the community won’t use,” he said.
The park also includes energy-efficient lights embedded in the sidewalks. It’s the first such use of LED lights in a park in the state, Kaftanski said.
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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