Perking up those parks
Amphitheaters and restaurants are fine, but how about a cheese dip fountain?
Remember when the golf courses at War Memorial Park and Hindman Park were shut down last summer by Little Rock city leaders?
Now, everybody’s wondering what will happen to these spaces that were once the stamping grounds of people wielding sticks hitting little white balls.
In 2019, Little Rock began searching for options for these parks and established a task force, which sounds like a fun job.
Among the task force recommendations for War Memorial Park are a bike park, small ballfields, pavilions and picnic areas, a dog park, a playground and an open-lawn stage, according to reporting Jan. 8 by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Rachel Herzog.
The group also envisions an amphitheater and the re-purposing of the former golf clubhouse into a restaurant and of the old golf cart center into a beer garden.
For Hindman Park a bike track and park, a skate park, a dog park, a playground, boardwalks and a nature center that allows visitors to traverse and learn about the area’s wetlands.
Perusing these early recommendations, we are reminded of a quote from Villanelle, the glamorous, Russian-born, completely unhinged assassin from the TV series Killing Eve:
“Boooorrrrring!”
So we formed our own task force — complete with a secret handshake and special uniforms — and came up with a few alternatives for both parks.
We begin with War Memorial proposals. Revisit this space next week for our Hindman Park suggestions.