Changes are in progress at several of city's parks
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on May 30, 2013 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MICHAEL BETTS
Mehujael Corbitt smooths the edges of the freshly poured concrete on what will be Berkeley Park's new basketball court.
City officials say several changes are planned at Goldsboro's parks over the summer.
The construction of new basketball courts at Berkeley Park is set to be completed by mid-June, as well as the installation of two beach volleyball courts on the old site of the basketball goals at the park, Parks and Recreation Director Scott Barnard said.
"You'll be playing basketball in two weeks," he said.
The old courts will be ripped up and replaced with sand removed from the playground, which was replaced with engineered mulch -- the approved bedding for a playground at a site like Berkeley Park.
The wood chips are cut in a way that they are curved and less likely to cause splinters than traditional wood chips and provide a softer landing than sand, Barnard said.
Equipment that no longer meets the code set up for child safety will be removed in the coming weeks. One problem with the current equipment is that the bars on the rails are too far apart.
"If a grapefruit can fit through the bars, then it's too wide," Barnard said.
At North End Park, the nets on two beach volleyball courts are set to go up along the same timeline as Berkeley Park's courts.
Other improvements at North End Park included the removal of a fountain, which has not worked for at least 15 years, Barnard said.
"At some point, it was filled in with dirt and they tried to use it as a planter, but that didn't work either," he said.
The playground at the park has also been relocated and the sand there replaced with mulch. The outfield of the softball field is being turned into a multi-use play area by removing sections of fencing.
At Fairview Park, outdoor fitness equipment will be installed including resistance training equipment, incline and decline benches and pull-up bars in addition to playground renovations set to take place of the heels of the improvements at Berkeley Park.
The Fairview Park improvements are expected to be completed by mid-August.