Scranton's Nay Aug Park would become more user-friendly under a $500,000 project involving some of the most extensive upgrades in several years at the popular attraction, officials said.
Trails, access, safety and drainage will be improved. A beach volleyball court will be built near the pool complex, where a seating area also will be expanded and water slides will be refurbished. Directional and wayfinding signs will be erected on trails to improve flow around the park. Trails also will be named and color-coded based on degrees of difficulty. Areas at the veterans memorial and greenhouse will be enhanced with landscaping, and a loop around the pool complex will become a disabled-accessible trail.
"It's a very large project with an all-encompassing scope," said city park specialist Sandi Opshinsky. "The trail network itself is going to be redefined to make it more user-friendly."
Click here to see images of the planned upgrades.
The project is being funded with a $500,000 state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant obtained by the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority with the assistance of state Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald, said Mayor Chris Doherty.
A $420,325 contract for the project has been awarded to Straka Construction of Blakely, , which submitted the lowest bid of six ranging up to $612,000, Ms. Opshinsky said. The rest of the grant goes toward financing interest and an audit, because under a RACP grant a municipality obtains financing first and gets reimbursed later by the state, she said.
Work is expected to begin soon, possibly as soon as next week, she said.
"It's going to be beautiful," said Mr. Doherty, who has been a staunch advocate of the park during his 12 years as mayor. He recalled that by the time he became mayor, Davis Trail in the park had long been overgrown and he enlisted volunteers to open it up. Lookouts, the David Wenzel Treehouse and Paul Kanjorski Pedestrian Bridge followed.
"When I first became mayor, Nay Aug Park was a place you found dead bodies and drug addicts," said Mr. Doherty, noting that today it is a family-friendly destination year-round.
The city's largest park with 142 acres, Nay Aug also has picnic areas, kid-friendly rides, two playgrounds, two Olympic-sized swimming pools, water slides and the Everhart Museum.
Some park visitors said they have noticed an uptick in people there in recent years, particularly tourists who may be unaware of all the park has to offer and may miss what many consider the highlight - the gorge that has been designated as a National Natural Landmark and its waterfalls.
Michele Johnston of Scranton, who was visiting the park Friday with her 4-year-old nephew, David Johnston, also reminisced about when the park when it featured a zoo years ago.
"I was just telling him (David) there used to be animals there," said Ms. Johnston, pointing to a former display cage.
Shown artist renderings of what the park upgrades would look like, she said, "Oh, it is nice. It can't hurt to do improvements. I think anything they do for the community is a good thing."
Meanwhile, a new greenhouse that was funded with a $100,000 grant from Wal-Mart also is expected to soon become operational, Ms. Opshinsky said. The Ronald McDonald House charity that shelters families of pediatric patients in hospitals also donated $10,000 for plants for the greenhouse, she said.
Mr. Doherty, who is not seeking re-election this year, said, "As I leave (office), I wanted to make sure that we refurbish the park."
Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com, @jlockwoodTT