UPDATE: Meck Rec & Roll Van is On a Roll to a Park Near You
Mecklenburg County’s new rolling recreation center, the “Meck Rec & Roll” van, has started rolling to a few neighborhoods in Mecklenburg County. The former 12-passenger van has been fitted with shelving and hooks to store recreation equipment for games and activities for kids, teens, and adults.
For right now, the van is rolling on Wednesdays and Fridays, says Superintendent of Community Recreation, Jay Tryon. Right now, the van is in TC Elder Park from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., and Howie Acres from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. On Fridays, it rolls to MLK Neighborhood Park from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
As more staff is brought on board to lead activities, more locations and days will be added. The van is part of an equity initiative after research revealed that only 37% of Mecklenburg County residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
“Locations are chosen based on recommendations from regional park staff that know the neighborhood parks and that are not within a short walk to recreation centers,” says Tryon. “The goal is to provide more opportunities for communities that have neighborhood parks and or are not close to some of our traditional recreation centers.”
We’ll keep up with where the van is headed, so you know when it’s coming your way.
Newest Segment of Little Sugar Creek Greenway Opens to Polk Historic Site
We’ve seen you peering as far as you could through that chain link fence at I-485 on the Little Sugar Creek Greenway! Well, wait no more -- the fence is pulled back and you are free to ride (officially) all the way to the James K. Polk Historic site.
Along the 1.8-mile route, you’ll find a little oasis at Marsh Park, a natural wetland with scenic overlooks and benches to rest your legs. Its location just north of Pineville-Matthews Road makes a nice jumping-off point for Carolina Place Parkway, which connects you to The Centrum Shopping Center and Carolina Place Mall.
The new segment brings bicycle riders one link closer to crossing the state line to South Carolina, and also oh-so-close to hooking up to the South Charlotte Connector to the Lower McAlpine, McMullen, and Four Mile Creek greenways. Right now, one more piece of real estate needs to be acquired to connect the Cross Charlotte Trail (XCLT) to the South Charlotte Connector -- and on to the additional 5.5 miles of greenways that reach all the way to Rea Road. (It’s just a little further to William R. Davie Park from there, if you’re feeling adventurous!)
“The real estate is a process, and we are evaluating our options to make the final connection,” says Katie Lloyd, a Senior Planner with Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department.
There are on-the-street options for getting to Park Road and the South Charlotte Connector from the Polk birthplace, but none are official greenway routes.
The new and long-awaited segment to the Polk Historic Site means only a few more segments remain between NoDa and South Carolina:
* Little Sugar Creek Greenway/XCLT (7th to 10th) (completed by City): 0.5 miles
Projected for completion in late 2021
* Little Sugar Creek Greenway/XCLT (Brandywine to Tyvola) (completed by City): 1.5 miles
Projected for completion in late 2021/early 2022
* Little Sugar Creek Greenway/XCLT (Polk to State Line): 2.9 miles
Projected for completion in mid 2022
Six more segments north of NoDa, currently in the design phase, will eventually reach the Cabarrus County line.
So grab your bike and get rolling! Mecklenburg County’s scenic Little Sugar Creek is beckoning with its natural beauty.
Inaugural Summerstock Celebrates Parks of West Charlotte
Cynthia Harrison wanted people to see west Charlotte’s parks, and they did. Hundreds eager to get outdoors and play, take in art, and listen to music were drawn to Camp Greene Park Sunday, June 27, for Summerstock Charlotte. The bash was a refreshing summer treat after a stifling year.
“People have been wanting something like this to happen,” says Harrison, a westside community advocate and Executive Director of the nonprofit Health Empowerment Renewal (H.E.R.) The nonprofit’s mission is to promote healthy living by addressing conditions and physical environments that impact health. “We’ve been in our homes for a long time, especially with children. We wanted to make sure we could get out with our children.”
Harrison started planning Summerstock Charlotte in December before she even had a date circled on the calendar. She wanted to make sure the inaugural event would be safe after so many public events had to be canceled for COVID. As vaccination levels rose, COVID cases declined enough to go ahead with plans. The last weekend of June brought food trucks, artists, live performers, and an opportunity for kids to try out the new playground and explore the bike trail.
Harrison says she simply wanted to celebrate outdoor spaces on the west side of Charlotte, to let people know where to find them, and encourage them to return often with their families.
“We’ve never had a festival in a park, a way for our artists to showcase their work,” says Harrison. “So I thought, ‘Let’s bring this together.’ We can give them something to talk about -- to know we can have something.”
Partners for Parks joined the party to show its support for a growing west side recreation scene and as part of its commitment to equity and access for all to local parks. Several Board Members pitched the Partners for Parks tent on the renovated basketball court funded through grants from Lowe’s Home Improvement and the Charlotte Hornets and facilitated by Partners for Parks.
“We are very much focused on the west side and creating more parks in those underserved communities,” says Al Brown, Treasurer of Partners for Parks. In addition to handing out jump ropes and frisbees -- to the delight of many children -- board members surveyed festival-goers about what they love about their parks, and what more they’d like to see. They’ll pass the suggestions on to Mecklenburg County’s Parks Director, Lee Jones.
“It was great to be out again,” added Brown. “We haven’t done anything since 2019. It’s great to get our message out and show the west side we’re there supporting them.”
Harrison, the leader of the event, is excited about the developing partnership with Partners for Parks.
“We’re talking about fundraising,” says Harrison. “I’m so excited that Partners for Parks listened. They see that there is a need, and by doing what they're doing, that helps the community.”
Now that Camp Greene Park has a new playground and open space for kids to play, along with a nature trail and connection to the Stewart Creek Greenway, Harrison is looking into what else would be a good addition to the park. She’s thinking of an amphitheater for more live music, and better signs to let residents of the west side know the park is there and waiting for them.
“Lots of people said, ‘I didn’t know this was back here,’” says Harrison. “I believe because of this event, that people are willing to come back to this park again.”
Partners for Parks Sponsors 5 Students at DJ Moore Football ProCamp
Run, jump, throw and catch are vital components of Play, and Partners for Parks wants to help kids be active and healthy as they grow and thrive. Partners for Parks sponsored five recipients -- boys and girls grades 1-8 -- for scholarships at the DJ Moore Youth Football ProCamp this week, where they were able to play while running, jumping, throwing, and catching a football.
Partners for Parks has provided scholarships for hundreds of football campers in the Charlotte region over the past 10 years. These scholarships are made available through our partnership with ProCamp and a third party, the Garth Brooks Foundation.
Our cameras snapped a few highlights of our campers having fun and Breathing Life Into Our Community at the Youth Football ProCamp. Take a look!
Pop-Up Bike Trail Coming to Cordelia Park for 1 Week in June
Riding your bike “off-road” on trails sure looks like a lot of fun. But if you’ve shied away from trying it because you didn’t know the in’s and out’s of what’s involved; or leaving the security of nice, level pavement scares you; we have just the event for you.
A group of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County agencies has created a plan for a pop-up mountain bike trail at Cordelia Park in June. With the help of Trips for Kids Charlotte, the Tarheel Trailblazers, and a half dozen other nonprofits and community groups including Partners for Parks, the demonstration project is an opportunity to teach bike safety to the public and gather information about park needs for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation.
Feedback collected from the one-week project will give Meck Park & Rec information they need for building future unpaved trails around the county. According to the MCP&R’s master plan, Meck Playbook, unpaved trails are the second-most requested facility type for parks. Cordelia Park is the perfect fit for a demonstration event because the land is great for a small, youth-friendly trail course, and it’s close to nonprofit biking partners.
Mecklenburg County Public Health is taking the lead on this project, after it was first suggested by Charlotte DOT for Open Streets 704 in the Spring of 2020. The two agencies are working together, along with MCP&R and the nonprofits, as a way to make Bike Charlotte’s reach stretch beyond its current Bike Month in May. Strengthening community partnerships with the shared goal of greater bike participation is a key goal in the multi-agency approach.
What will it look like?
The project involves two courses during the week -- a beginner trail and an intermediate trail. The beginner trail has wide turns, a lesser gradient, and an open landscape. The intermediate trail has a gradient and more turns. Both trails are one-way for safety, and are far enough away from the Little Sugar Creek Greenway and playground to avoid collisions or conflicts.
The project team will set up the courses Monday, June 14th, and will host participants every afternoon until Saturday, June 19th. The team will dismantle the courses Sunday, June 20th. The first weeks of summer will allow kids to participate since they are out of school by Memorial Day this year and will be looking for something fun to do. Volunteers from the community partners will clean up and set up the courses each morning for use each afternoon, and they will be closed at night and stacked with hay bales to discourage night use. A day’s activities will also be canceled if there’s bad weather, for safety reasons.
Current COVID protocols will be in place for the safety of staff, partners, and participants. Project leaders will have basic bike maintenance tools handy for bikes that need them, and Public Health will have a limited supply of helmets for participants who don’t have one.
With Cordelia Park’s key connections to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway and Cross Charlotte Trail, this will prove to be a popular spot for a bike event that is Breathing Life Into Our Community as we all return to the great outdoors for summer.
Mecklenburg County Park & Rec is On a Roll with Their New Van
Look for recreation to roll into a neighborhood near you this summer -- literally! The new Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation “Meck Rec & Roll” van is almost complete and will bring the recreation to you - if you can’t make it to the Rec Center.
The idea is borne from a drive for equity in Mecklenburg County. Meck Park & Rec research revealed only 37% of county residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, something that will take time to fix. Recreation Centers are fewer and further between. But the van can roll anywhere vans can go!
“The goal behind it is to target areas that don’t have rec centers within a short drive or walk,” says Jay Tryon, Recreation Superintendent for MCP&R. “We want to be in neighborhood parks that don’t have a rec center or complex, or hands-on programming.”
The drive for equity is a goal shared by both Mecklenburg County and Partners for Parks, who has stated that this year’s goal is to improve equitable access for all residents to parks and green spaces. It’s no secret park use surged during the pandemic, but the reality is that enjoying parks has been easier for some than for others.
“Equity is at the centerpiece of this initiative,” says Tryon. “This is a chance for staff to interact with you and know what neighborhoods want, and we want to bring the type of activities you want, to you.”
So what will that look like? Big and colorful, for starters! The former 12-passenger van has been fitted with shelving and hooks to store recreation equipment for games, or objects for nature programming says Tryon. And it’s not all kid stuff -- activities for teens and fitness programs for adults are part of the plan. All ages and skill levels are included. The outside of the van is wrapped with graphics that let you know the fun is rolling in!
“It’s exciting, it's cool,” says Tryon. “It gives our staff the opportunity to be more creative.”
Looks for the van to roll into two different parks per day during summer, 4-5 days a week and some Saturdays, starting in mid-June. Morning and afternoon visits will allow staff time to rest and sanitize equipment between visits. A schedule hasn’t been set yet, but look for it soon.
Eastway Recreation Center Opens as First Multi-Use Regional Center
After more than 4 years of planning and construction, Mecklenburg County’s first-of-its-kind multi-use regional recreation center is open at Eastway Park. The brand new Eastway Recreation Center opened April 7, and includes a full fitness area; gyms for pickleball, basketball, and indoor soccer; recreation and training pools; and community, nature, and technology areas for youth and seniors.
“It’s changing the face of public recreation in Mecklenburg County,” says Eastway Recreation Manager Daniel Leatherman, who joined the Eastway team in its final phase of design and construction. “It’s a one stop shop of everything Park and Rec has to offer.”
The recreation center sits on 95-acre Eastway Park off Eastway Drive in east Charlotte. The large park also includes soccer fields, wetlands observations areas, and will connect via trail to Briarwood Park. A playground area for children will replace one that was moved to accommodate the new building. The inside color palette reflects the diversity of the eastside neighborhoods, weaving oranges and aquas with a multitude of other colors, where modern touches enhance the reflection of the community’s cultural roots.
The COVID-safe soft opening has been a long time in the making: neighborhood input meetings began as far back as Spring 2017, and involved reaching out to community groups, churches, and neighborhood associations to hear what they wanted and needed. Leatherman says every investment of time and energy is worth it now.
“The first week is going well -- there is a lot of interest in the facility, and a lot of tours,” he says. “Everyone is remarking about how large, how beautiful, and how diverse it is. This is the facility they designed, and we’re so delighted they're able to come in and enjoy it.” The new center is already averaging 100 visitors a day in just its first week.
Leatherman took Partners for Parks on a tour of the new 95,000 square foot facility, the first of four planned for Mecklenburg County. Here are highlights under one roof:
Community Areas:
These are rooms for community meetings and other activities non-passholders from the community can take part in.
Event Hall - A large room that can be subdivided as needed, it will be primarily a space for Senior programming and wellness activities during the day, and available for rent to groups on nights and weekends. A kitchen equipped with a stove and overhead camera and TV screen will allow for cooking demonstrations. A roll-up “garage door” opens to accommodate larger crowds.
Tech Lab - A place you can sit a spell and work on your electronic device while sipping a cup of coffee. Limited laptops will be available for checkout, for use at the center, and a soundproof booth allows you to record music, poetry, or a podcast undisturbed. The room also features a roll-up door overlooking the Rec Center’s lobby for an inviting place to rest and work, and will eventually offer coding classes from the center’s technology partners.
Children’s Area - Eastway won’t have a preschool per se, but it will have programs and events for kids and homeschool students. The colorful room equipped with miniature tables and chairs of our youth will also offer drop-in childcare for members who need an hour to work out or use the center’s other amenities.
Nature Center - Rotating exhibits will give kids a mini-museum-quality science education. Easy-to-use microscopes on site will allow them to check out nature trail finds to the tiniest detail.
Multi-use Room - The large, subdividable room with slick tables and patterned floors has large windows and doors to the outside for a greener view during your community meeting.
Outdoor Events - Large events like concerts, festivals, and community fairs will join soccer, baseball, and flag football on the many outdoor fields. Eastway also promotes inclusion and therapeutic recreation with accessible spaces and activities.
Member Areas:
These areas are open to MeckPass or one-time daily pass members. A MeckPass is a facilities membership that can be purchased on site or online, and allows use of all Mecklenburg County recreational facilities. Some features require reservations, which are available by phone, on site, or online.
MeckPass: https://apm.activecommunities.com/mecklenburgparks/Membership
Reservations: https://apm.activecommunities.com/mecklenburgparks/Reserve_Options
Weight Room (Downstairs) - Free weights galore, and machines to lift them with. “If you drop it and it goes ‘boom,’” says Leatherman, “it goes here.” That’s the best description we could find for this gym, and we’re sticking with it!
Fitness Machines (Upstairs) - The electronic treadmills, stair-steppers, and cardio machines that are quieter by design. This area overlooks several scenes below, including the gymnasium courts.
Track - Nine laps make a mile, so plan accordingly on this cushioned track that surrounds the upper deck and fitness machines. Large, colorful murals and games on the courts below keep your interest and you walk and run your indoor miles.
Fitness Studios - Right now these four large, mirrored rooms off the track accommodate extra fitness equipment to maintain social distance, but will eventually be home to yoga, Silver Sneakers, spin, and circuit training classes. You’ll want to book something in the corner studio with the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the soccer fields and natural areas outside.
Multi-purpose Courts - Park & Recreation got creative with its court setup, putting something for everyone in this space. On one side of the gym, a traditional wooden hard court accommodates basketball for both long and half-court games. The second court is a mat court surrounded by plexiglas and netting, for soccer, kickball, futsal (like indoor soccer), and camp activities.
“Mat holds up better to wear and tear,” says Leatherman, “and the netting will hold in stray balls.” He’s especially excited about the indoor soccer court. “Soccer is huge on the east side, so that will serve our community well.” Both courts are marked for full and half basketball, volleyball, pickleball, and badminton.
Aquatic Center - Did we mention it has a pool? In fact, it’s got TWO! Eastway Recreation Center introduces the first public pool to the east side of Charlotte, and the first competition pool to Mecklenburg County in more than 25 years. The 8-lane, 25-yard pool will host aquatic exercise classes, lessons, lap swim, and eventually a junior swim team in the Hornets Nest League. For aquatic sports lovers, this is a BIG DEAL, since 4 of Mecklenburg County’s 5 current aquatic facilities are located within a mile of each other in Uptown, while the 5th is a few miles away in the SouthPark area.
“I am overjoyed,” says Kira Cullen, Aquatics Supervisor, who brings years of competitive swimming and facilities management experience to her new role. “I’m ecstatic about the swim team and getting families in here, learning to swim, and giving them opportunities they haven’t had in this area.”
A separate multi-purpose pool gives kids of all ages a fun place to play with zero-entry area, lazy river, and super slide. The sound of fountains and colorful water spouts create the indoor-pool ambiance for any water lover’s dream. A party room off the pool is perfect for birthdays with cake and ice cream and lots of splashing fun.
“Public access to water in Mecklenburg County is so important,” responds Leatherman. “One, this provides equity and access, but also a potentially life saving skill we want everyone to have access to and learn.” Dozens of neighborhood pools dot our community, along with lakes, rivers, creeks, and ponds, and Leatherman points out the potential risk of water-related tragedies.
“Putting these water amenities in parts of town that don’t have access is huge for us,” he adds. “We know there's a huge demand for water. We want to provide water safety for youth and adults. An important thing for us is to teach people how to be safer on water.” Leatherman and Cullen are fitting the pieces of the water schedule puzzle together, and says high school swimmers will also likely get time. “We don’t want to eliminate any potential users,” he says. Currently, all CMS high schools share 2 pools.
Sound like fun? Here’s even better news: the Eastway Recreation Center is the first of four multi-purpose centers planned for Mecklenburg County. The Northern Regional Recreation Center is galloping along on its construction schedule, with bricked exterior walls already in place. Leatherman is happy to be welcoming patrons to the first.
“To have people inside the building and enjoying it now is an incredible feeling,” he says. “We’re ramping up and are headed full speed into summer.”
Uptown’s Newest Art Piece is a Musical Balancing Act
Sit, stand, dance, or wobble -- First Ward Park’s newest interactive artwork lets you move to your own tune and make music by yourself or with friends. “Balancing Act” invites you to get creative and explore tunes on three colorful discs.
“It is meant to bring together neighbors and strangers, and allow them to negotiate its usage: sit and look around, sunbathe, see how many people can fit on at once, see how long you can balance, or try to create a song together,” says Balancing Act’s creator, Daily tous les jours art and design studio of Montreal. The award-winning studio, whose name translates to “Daily every day,” has created more than 40 original artworks in over 30 cities around the world.
The three multi-colored, 68-inch disks are made of aluminum, stainless steel, zinc-plated steel, and air springs. Two amplifiers and a hard drive provide music to the discs, whose musical patterns vary with movement. Three main positions allow differences in tone and rhythm on each disk, allowing them to be played alone or together.
The interactive art installation is nestled along a walkway in the park with a perfect view of Charlotte’s uptown skyline for added inspiration! The work was paid for by Mecklenburg County’s 1% for the Arts Ordinance. So go hit First Ward Park and enjoy a new song and dance with art!
Photo credit: Mitchell Kearney
Spring Forward Into Two Updated Mecklenburg County Parks!
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department is kicking off Spring with an invitation to visit two parks with new and updated features!
Thereasea Clark Elder Park
Renovations at Thereasea Clark Elder Park include a NEW fitness area, picnic shelter, playground, and landscaping. Elder was a civic leader in Charlotte’s African American community, and the public health department’s first -- and for years, only -- African American nurse. She joined in 1962 after more than a dozen years of working at Good Samaritan Hospital, and until 1970, was only allowed to treat the county’s Black patients. She paved the way for others who followed, and went on to help many organizations become inclusive in the next several decades.
“TC was a warrior for the African American community, and saw that Rockwell needed a park,” says James Williams, North Regional Park Manager with Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department. Elder advocated for years to promote the health and wellness of the Rockwell Church community with the neighborhood park that was renamed for her in 2013.
The 16-acre park at 6315 Rockwell Church Road is a fitting tribute to a Charlotte native who graduated from Johnson C Smith University and served in the U.S. Nursing Corp, before completing her nursing degree and studying pediatrics at Howard University. The park now boasts new fitness stations, and a longer trail that extends around a popular multi-use field, in addition to a new playground, refurbished picnic shelter, landscaping, and improved grading and drainage around the basketball court.
The renovations were finishing up just as word came about Elder’s passing in January, and reflect Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation’s commitment to equity, as outlined in its master plan, the Meck Playbook. Thereasea Clark Elder Park is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking is available on Rockwell Church Road.
Renaissance Park
Swinging south, check out even bigger changes at Renaissance Park off Tyvola Road. The longstanding park includes 145 acres of anything the “Renaissance” man, woman, child, or *pup* would like: golf, tennis, softball, bike trails, sand volleyball, disc golf, and now, a BRAND NEW skate park and dog park!
“The original design was late 70’s and no longer functional because of settling,” explains Alex Rohleder, South Regional Park Manager with Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department, “so we had to come up with a plan to be sustainable.” The park is partially located on an old landfill site, which explains the settling. Two softball fields on that part of the park remain, while the rest are now home to the new sand volleyball courts and dog park.
“We needed lit volleyball courts, and sand volleyball can be leveled if it settles,” explains Rohleder. “The remaining fields are now a dog park, because that’s perfect for land that settles.” In a “bright” move that uses infrastructure that’s already in place (and saves money!), the volleyball courts are brightened by the same lights that used to illuminate the old softball fields at night.
“Lights are a premium amenity, needed to serve the community to the fullest,” says Rohleder. It made sense for Meck Park & Rec to reuse a valuable commodity they already had in place. The 5-acre dog park includes separate areas for big and small dogs, and watering stations for each. Benches and shade will be added to keep both pups & their human pals cool in the hot summer months.
In addition, after a lot of discussion, research, and design, a skate park was added to the renovation plans by popular demand. The park is free and open to the public during park hours, and skaters will participate at their own risk (rules are posted). There is room for future expansion, too!
The 2020 Mecklenburg County Park & Rec Greenway Master Plan includes an extension of the Big Sugar Creek Greenway north through Renaissance Park to connect with the Irwin Creek Greenway. Cyclists will love riding to the park to use its existing bike trails!
“This project is funded and in the design phase,” says Partners for Parks Treasurer Al Brown. “It will be a wonderful addition to our Greenway System.”
The park at 1200 West Tyvola Road opens at sunrise. The tennis court lights are on a timer that turns off at 10:30 p.m.
So now that Spring is springing, get outdoors to check out these great new park additions!