Long-delayed Northgate Park renovations finally underway

The renovation of Northgate Park has been a long, long time in coming -- so much so that our joke here at BCR has been that the "Your Bond Dollars at Work" sign in front of the W. Club civic amenity should have an addendum saying, "Celebrating Over Ten Years of Planning!"

Yes, the renovations -- funded in the 1996 park bonds -- have taken more than ten years to get underway in terms of shovels in the ground. Northgate Park's own Cheryl Shiflett tells the gory details on our Oct. 9, 2008 edition of Shooting the Bull, while Jim Wise has a blow-by-blow accounting in The Durham News back in December.

Wandering by this weekend, the work -- which has been dependent to some extent on the completion of the Ellerbe Creek stream restoration effort taking place down the park's middle -- appears to be significantly underway. And, intriguingly, City work crews were out working hard in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, suggesting that perhaps the frustration shown by the mayor and City Council in a work session this fall may have resonated with the Parks and Rec staff.

A staff which, by the by, is now ensconsed firmly under troubleshooter Ted Voorhees under Tom Bonfield's realignment of city offices. We're not sure what will be tougher for the deputy city manager: managing last year's drought or getting a handle on the reins in the parks department.

But first, some photo proof of the work now underway. Here are the work crews, out working over near the greenway that runs up the park's western side, and which is currently closed while reconstruction is underway:

Here's Ellerbe Creek, where stream restoration appears to have made significant progress throughout the park's length.

New playground equipment is in the midst of installation; kids, be sure to play on the blue-and-white structure, not the Bobcat. (Yes, kids would infinitely prefer the heavy equipment, but we imagine it will be removed by the time the playground equipment is actually opened up for use.)

The new playground structure is a significant improvement over the post-War metal "play structures" that it replaces, and which are for the time being still available in Northgate Park:

Here's my favorite shot in Northgate Park, though, and one which epitomizes to my mind the state of park renovations. I'd be surprised if this chess board doesn't date to the park's dedication in 1940 -- and it's hard to tell how old the lefthand wooden seat is. The righthand seat, though, looks somewhat newly installed:

Similarly, Northgate Park residents won't find all the renovations they're looking for in Phase One of the effort; Phase Two should provide items like a renovated picnic structure, security lighting, and fix-up to the old stretch of Acadia St. that's now crumbling asphalt, according to Wise's story in The Durham News.  As soon as $600,000 in funding can be found for the capital project, of course.

Comments

[Retro Grouch]

Does anyone know if this park renovation means the greenway will get re-surfaced? Definitely needs it.

[B]

Not only does it need to be resurfaced, now the section between Lavender and Club has to be excavated. That entire section of the park between the west side of the creek and the trees along Glendale is under about 6 inches of muck.

[B]

Not only does it need to be resurfaced, now the section between Lavender and Club has to be excavated. That entire section of the park between the west side of the creek and the trees along Glendale is under about 6 inches of muck.

[Todd]

I am glad to see this finally underway. Durham has far too many parks that have been neglected for too long. Even the most basic maintenance issues seem to wait forever.

It would also be great if there were more of these neighborhood parks added in areas that do not have one. It is 2.1 miles from my home in the City to the closest city park at American Village, 3.5 miles to the next closest one at Valley Springs, and 7 miles to the nearest recreation center with a pool - Edison Johnson.

A well-maintained city park within reasonable walking distance is a valuable amenity all city residents should be able to enjoy.

[Michael Bacon]

I hope the old metal play structures get left. They're some of my favorite in Durham, and while I realize that the plastic ones are somewhat better for not knocking teeth out and such, the old ones are truly classic.

[jim]

I'm not too up on creek restoration, but is digging a deeper and wider channel really considered restoration? reditichification?

[Beth Timson]

No one is happier than Parks and Rec staff that Northgate will be renovated soon! Just a couple of comments that might assist the discussion (or at least point people in the right directions for information):
1. the stream restoration is not a City project; it's being run by the State's Ecosystem Enhancement Program and coordinated through the City's Storm Water staff. You can contact them for information about why it's designed as it is.
2. Park construction hasn't been handled through the Parks and Recreation Dept. for some years; projects are managed by the General Services Department.
3. The greenway between W. Club Blvd. and W. Lavender Ave will be redone; redoing the section between Lavender and W. Murray Ave. will take more funding, hopefully to be allocated to this project in the upcoming fiscal year.

[David McMullen]

About the stream restoration: There's only so far that "restoring" a stream can really go. You aren't going to get a fully natural, completely unpolluted stream as long as it runs through the middle of the city. I highly doubt that the stream's existing channel is the original one - the whole of Northgate Park looks like a floodplain to me, so the original channel probably wandered around quite a bit over the course of several centuries. I suspect that the existing channel was dug when the park was built. So it's always going to be a man-made stream to a certain extent, no matter what we do at this point.

On the other hand, you don't have to settle for a mere drainage ditch, either. Making a healthier and less polluted South Ellerbe Creek is an achievable goal. And yes, what's been done in the park is part of that. The restoration that's been done is a starting point for a more "natural" stream to develop. Give it a few years, and then see if you like how it looks a little more.

[David Kresge]

My dog Ginger and I have walked there for over fifteen years. She can barely maneuver the now treacherous land. I really wish the creek had been left alone. Blue herons used to make visits as they followed the water to Falls Lake. Hundreds of smaller birds took refuge in the trees and brush along side the stream. These birds kept the mosquito population in check. Now the ground has been chopped to pieces and the park will become a bug haven. I've already seen that happen at Forest Hills Park. They have to spray with nasty pesticides, but the mosquitoes still win the battle. What was once beautiful is now ugly. Many of Durham's parks are indeed built on flood plains. Widening the streams takes away valuable walking/playing spaces and distorts their proportions. And the idea is to keep people away from the creek. While I understand the need, I feel there were more remote areas that could have been used to improve water flow and filtration. I haven't met with a single person that is happy with the destruction of Northgate Park. What's done is done, but my vote will certainly speak against the people who approved this measure come election day.