By NATALIE betz
Several new parks are being built in Iowa City, and some will be finished as soon as this summer.“Parks are used as community gathering spaces throughout the city,” said Juli Seydell Johnson, the city Parks and Recreation director. “And it is City Council’s strategic goal to support neighborhoods.”
According to the city’s website, Frauenholtz-Miller Park will be finished on May 31.
The new park will be an important addition to the city because it’s placed in a newer neighborhood on the Northeast Side of town, Seydell-Johnson said.
Frauenholtz Park had received more bids than was originally estimated, Seydell-Johnson said.
She said design parks landscape engineers, construction companies, or anyone interested in sealing bids can offer an amount that they’d like to contribute to new parks. They received new bids on March 16, which allows the city to move forward with the project.
At Mercer Park, a new Pickle and Tennis ball court will be built. The courts are estimated to be finished sometime in the spring or summer. No membership is required to use the courts; they are available to the public, Seydell-Johnson said.
The Wetherby Sport Courts will include two outdoor basketball courts and a futsal court Seydell-Johnson explained. “The Community Development Block Grant is a federal program that aids young community development. They will be funding the courts,” she said.
However, according to the city’s website, the project is on hold due to an environmental review required for federal funding.
Several Iowa City parks are smoke-free, said Susan Vileta, health educator for Johnson County Public Health. However, she has been promoting for all of Johnson County parks, including all of Iowa City’s parks, to be completely tobacco free.
In an email to The Daily Iowan, Vileta said, “I conducted a survey of Johnson County residents in 2016, and 84 percent strongly agreed or agreed that tobacco use in parks/playgrounds/trails can have a negative impact on kids and the environment.”
Her survey consisted of 908 respondents, 436 of whom were from Iowa City.
Because there are signs explaining the smoke-free policy all over campus, Vileta said, it would make it even more clear to the community if there were tobacco-free signs. She said she is hoping that the new parks will bring a nicotine-free policy to all Iowa City parks.
“Parks represent activity and health, so it’s important to be able to breathe clean air,” Vileta said. “Iowa City is a pretty health conscious community, but seeing people smoke and chew can influence children. Plus, it eliminates trash, such as chew tobacco packets. I’ve even seen disposable electronic cigarettes on park grounds.”
Along with new parks, there is an effort to make sure there are more recycling bins in parks and shelters,” Seydell-Johnson said.
Alaina Zachary, a community member who was at College Green Park, said she’s glad there will be more parks, and she hopes there will be a dog park closer to downtown sometime in the near future.
