“Adventure” Park City Seeking Community Input

Westerville Parks & Recreation is seeking input for the design and development phase of the new “adventure” park to be integrated into the environment and wooded ravines just east of Vesper Way on the City’s northwest side. Previously referred to as the “Edge” adventure park, this space will provide opportunities for active recreation, blending pursuits like hiking and climbing.

This project is one of six outlined in the residentapproved Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (PROS) master plan, following developments in the trail network and the expansion of the Westerville Community Center. This park space will introduce “edgy, active recreation to the Westerville community in a wooded nature park setting,” with appealing trails and nature-friendly features included in the overall park design. The park will provide access to the Alum Creek waterway in support of both the PROS plan and the Rapid 5 initiative, a regional park strategy incorporating the five major waterways to knit all five Central Ohio waterways into a single cohesive system (see rapid5.org for details).

Based on its proximity to the Westar commercial area, the site will emphasize workplace wellness initiatives and help stimulate amenities for the local workforce.

At a March Westerville City Council work session, Parks & Recreation Director Randy Auler said the project will support Council’s environmental sustainability goal.

“We see the idea of being environmentally responsible by being good stewards of the property, restoring the tributary banks to prevent soil erosion, providing invasive plant removal, and establishing native plant communities under the AEP transmission lines and in the successional growth field,” said Auler. “This park will balance the need for active, fitness recreation with restoration of the natural site by removing invasives, stabilizing the stream banks, and establishing native plant communities to improve the habitat diversity.”

Auler said this part of the project is about engaging the community through group discussions, outreach, community-wide meetings, surveys and more. To get involved or submit comments, please visit www.westerville.org/adventurepark or email parksandrec@westerville.org.