Who doesn’t love a nice, peaceful day at the park? Fresh air, birds chirping, greenness everywhere. Well, my friends, if you’re a park-lover, you’re in luck! The city recently broke ground for a new park in the Vine City area. Rodney Cook Sr. Park is due to open late this year or early next year.
According to an AJC.com article, the park is named for Rodney Cook, a former city alderman and state representative who backed several anti-discrimination causes during his time in and out of office. He served from the 1950s to the 1970s. One of the park’s goals is to honor the neighborhood’s Civil Rights history with 18 monuments to civil rights leaders and peacemakers. It will also have the library of civil rights leader C.T. Vivian and a 110-ft peace column.
The Atlanta Watershed article about the new park explains that the park is intended to help with the flooding that the Vine City area often experiences when the city gets heavy rain (which happens, you know, quite a lot.) This magic will happen with the addition of a pond system that will collect rain water. Based on the rainfall of the past six years, the pond will collect 37 million gallons of water from 150 acres of land. That’s a lot of water! The park will include green infrastructure to make the flood relief happen, and the flood measures are intended to reduce the strain on the city’s sewer systems.
The park is also intended to be a place for community gathering and recreation, giving city-dwellers more green space to enjoy. The park will be located by Joseph E. Boone Boulevard near-ish to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the 16-acre park will eventually be connected to the Beltline. The Atlanta Watershed article also pointed out that the park will provide the opportunity for job training and educating people about the environment.
The $45 million park will be funded by the city, businesses, and various non-profits. Major players in the park project are the City of Atlanta, the Trust for Public Land, The National Monuments Foundation (which will be in charge of the monuments we mentioned earlier), and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
Living in the city might make us feel a little disconnected from nature and the environment. The Rodney Cook Sr. Park will benefit the city in many ways – it’ll control flooding, provide a community space, and honor the history of the Vine City neighborhood all at the same time! Talk about multitasking! With the Rodney Cook Sr. Park, we will have another place to get some fresh air and enjoy nature. For more information about the park, you can visit their website.
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Sources:
http://www.ajc.com/news/local/ground-broken-launch-new-park-atlanta-westside/K1h3BjlUqRIpK30qqeY4wM/