July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Work on drive is planned (01/10/07)

Portland Park Board

By By MIKE SNYDER-

The next visible sign of work on a park under development in Portland will be construction of a drive into the middle of a field.

Nola Albrecht, a landscape architect from Schneider Corporation, updated members of the Portland Park Board on the Hudson Family Park project Tuesday.

She said that site work for a drive leading from the Wayne Street entrance into the interior of what will become the park could begin sometime this winter. She also discussed running electricity to several sites in the proposed 30 acre site, which was donated to the city by the Barry Hudson family.

Portland Parks Superintendent Jeff Harker said today that bid-letting for a planned trail system through the park - which will tie in with an existing nature trail along the Salamonie River - is expected to come in December.

He said that construction of the drive - followed by construction of the trails - will allow use of the park to begin as soon as possible.

"If we get the trails in there ... they came come in there and use them," Harker said. The goal is, "let's get it set up so people can utilize it before it's (completely) done.

"We just want to make sure we continue to do something so we continue progressing," Harker said.

Other major projects in the development of the park include excavation of a large pond, and construction of an amphitheater.

City park officials envision a system of trails not only through the new park, but connecting all city parks. Those "trails" would largely utilize existing sidewalks and streets. Included in that vision is designating and separating a portion of River Road for use as a trail to connect Meridian Street with the Weiler-Wilson Park and Hudson Family Park via a new pedestrian/bike bridge.

That bride was moved to its new location from its previous home over Brooks Creek in Knox Township.

Harker told members of the park board Tuesday that electricity has been run to the bridge and lights have been installed.

He also said that Baker and Schultz, Decatur, which supervised the project, will return in the spring to finish a guard rail, seed grass and replace stone on both the north and south sides of the bridge.[[In-content Ad]]
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