The Dispatch wrote River park might expand
Saturday, November 22, 2008
By Mark Ferenchik
The new Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the Whittier Peninsula might attract more than birds and their binocular-toting followers. It also might draw wall climbers, ice skaters and dog owners.
Metro Parks is considering expanding the 84-acre park hugging the Scioto River just south of Downtown by an additional 40 acres. Parks officials are considering whether to build a climbing wall, a skate park, a disc golf course, a dog park and other attractions — perhaps even a sledding hill.
The expansion, in addition to expenses already budgeted for the park, would cost $20 million, making the total cost $30 million. Metro Parks Executive Director John O’Meara said that’s why the parks board might ask voters to pass a 10-year, 0.75-mill levy in May.
Besides expanding the Scioto park, the financially strapped city of Columbus has asked that Metro Parks pick up some of the city’s expenses for the new park. That might force Metro Parks to scale back the size of its planned parks near New Albany, Groveport and along the Scioto River in southern Franklin County.
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