The Tabernacle Sun
The third and final phase of the renovation of Patty Bowker Park is moving forward, and the end of what will have been a six-year project is in sight.
At a township workshop meeting on June 10, the council approved specifications and authorized the solicitation of bids to finish the project that began in 2007.
Township administrator Doug Cramer attributed the sluggishness of the project to the fact that the township has exclusively used grant money to complete the renovations. There have been three grant periods staggered over the six years since the project began. The township received $250,000 in grant money from the state and county.
The project began because previous playground equipment at both Patty Bowker Park and Pricketts Mill Park was unable to meet new fall zone requirements and concerns over treated lumber, making it impossible to continue using the wooden structure. New accessibility requirements from the Americans with Disabilities Act also made the changes for the parks necessary.
The first two phases of the project focused on adding handicap accessible paths or width to the existing paths around the fields. The baseball fields with lighting have completed paths on the first base side as well as connections to Germain Road, which is used to access the fields.
With the specifications for phase three now approved, the council will begin to solicit bids. Two different contractors completed phase one and phase two of the project. Cramer was unsure who would be finishing the project but said it may be some of the companies the township has used previously for this and other construction endeavors.
The third phase will ensure that handicap accessible paths connect all the athletic fields to the concession stand and restrooms as well as parking areas. Currently, there are paths around all the fields but they do not connect.
In addition to the path completion, the bleachers will be made handicap accessible as well. Currently, there is a concrete pad separated from the other seating that those in wheelchairs have had to use.
“Once we have the bleachers completed, the seating will be accessible for all,” Cramer said. “Families won’t have to be separated due to accessibility issues.”
