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Drive is on for park that seems to be stuck in neutral

Out for a morning stroll, Jim and Nancy Crawford take heed of Memorial Park’s orange fencing and closure signs. The Highlands Ranch couple are regular visitors and trail walkers. “They sure are taking their time on this section,” Jim said. “I don’t get it.”

Memorial Park looks more and more like a war zone. Four blocks of good, lush, green grass are dead. Big piles of dirt, equipment and tattered orange fences make it impossible to walk through. The workers seem aimless, and I can’t detect any visible signs of progress months later. What is the deal with this mess, which began last fall? – Animas City Resident

If memory fails you regarding “Memorial Park,” you’re not alone.

Memorial Park is the official name of the 15-acre public space bordering the Animas River from the La Plata County Fairgrounds north to 32nd Street.

But few people call it that. Instead, the park is referred to by another name: That One Really Long Stretch Where All The Rafters and Tubers Park Their Cars.

Which brings up an interesting question: Why are parks called “parks?” You can park your car adjacent to a “park,” but you can’t actually park in a park.

And what about a driveway? The only time you drive on a driveway is to park your car. Shouldn’t a driveway be called a “parkway?”

Except that a “parkway” is a name for a street on which you drive.

Many things don’t make sense, including the prolonged work on Memorial Park.

The project has a lot of moving parts. East Third Avenue in the Animas City neighborhood was in rough shape, so crews tore up and replaced the asphalt. They also installed “bulbouts” to slow traffic.

Next, the park’s dysfunctional narrow sidewalk was ripped out and a 10-foot-wide path was poured as part of the Animas River Trail improvement project.

New lights had to be installed. Trees were planted. A new sprinkler system was constructed.

It’s a ton of work.

After receiving your complaint, Durango Mayor Sweetie Marbury checked on the work last week. She likened Memorial Park to an endless home-improvement project.

“However, once the project is over, the mind quickly forgets the frustration and agitation,” she wrote in an email.

Sweetie knows a thing or two about park improvements.

Years ago, she worked to save Brookside Park from becoming a commercial property.

She raised money to put in grass, sprinklers and dirt.

“It was a huge mess,” she recalled. But the ugly construction part is now just a memory.

The good news is we are entering the homestretch. According to Cathy Metz, director of Durango Parks and Recreation, the hardscaping should be done by month’s end.

This includes the final pour of concrete to complete the river trail, placement of boulders for fishing access and a safer pedestrian walkway across 32nd Street.

Cathy noted the complexity of redeveloping the park’s irrigation system, which included all sorts of new lines and a filtering station.

The grass may be shot, but the new trees are OK.

“Supplemental watering has been performed by the contractor to ensure the trees remain healthy in the park,” she wrote in a follow-up email. “The irrigation system installation should be complete in September and by next spring, the turf should be re-established.”

So hang on – soon the netting, cones, rubble and debris will be gone – and the park will be welcoming and inviting for Animas City inhabitants.

That includes both the people and the ever-expanding deer herds.

Deer are a neighborhood scourge, showing no fear of humans, dogs or the dirt clods that Action Line hurls at the beasts when they interlope in the front garden.

Memorial Park will be a very popular place for deer because of the mugo pines recently planted at 31st Street. Any gardener will tell you that mugos are deer candy.

Or maybe the city is betting the hordes of half-clad tubers will repel the hordes of hoofed ruminants.

H H H

Our friend Cathy Craig sends a grateful note to the Mea Culpa Mailbag regarding last week’s item on “FOX News.”

“Thanks for solving the mystery of my missing paper Saturday morning! I had plenty of guesses as to who was the paper thief, but a gray fox certainly wasn’t one of them. Yet another Durango wildlife adventure ... Love it!”

Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you put the dog days of summer on a leash.



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