Maple Park face-lift includes new covered pavilions, playground equipment

ALBANY — Even on a hot, steamy July afternoon, Maple Park in east Albany drew a few visitors, many shooting baskets with their children, walking around the half-mile track ringing the facility and for one man, an opportunity to sit under the shade of the park’s shelter while working on a laptop computer.

But this time of year, it is the early morning and evening hours that draw the most people to the 11.7-acre facility on North Maple Street.

The park, which abuts the Liberty Expressway, is undergoing a $125,000 renovation that includes new basketball goals, three covered pavilions, and refurbished and new playground equipment.

“They are fixing it up real nice,” said Uelissa Sheffield, who was at the park Thursday with her daughters, ages 3 and 4. “I think that’s nice. My kids love it. They like the little merry-go-round.”

The park also includes a center for exercise and yoga, large grassy areas and the half-mile track that surrounds nearly the entire area.

“I like how they have the little trail,” said Sheffield, who said she brings her daughters to the park several times a week.

The park draws large crowds on weekdays for exercise, and on weekends it is a popular place for children’s birthday parties and cookouts, Dougherty County Commissioner Clinton Johnson said.

“The center gets a lot of use,” he said. “They have a full parking lot every evening. At about 6:30 every morning, they’re there walking, walking. Same thing at night.”

The county put about 75 percent — some $84,000 — of funding for the rehabilitation project, and the city added the balance in cash and in-kind contributions of labor and equipment. While the project will bring more to do in an underserved area, it means more than just that, the commissioner said.

“I see it as life improvement,” Johnson said. “These kinds of improvements spur redevelopment in an area. When people see this kind of park from the expressway, people will come in and build around it. I’ve seen several communities grow around parks.”

The county has invested in parks in unincorporated areas in recent years, adding exercise and playground equipment, partially to get residents to get outdoors and engage in healthy activities. That concept also is part of the effort at Maple Park. Since Johnson’s District 3 does not include any parks in unincorporated Dougherty County, he wanted to do something on the east side of Albany.

“This kind of recreation project, and what we’re doing at Radium Springs, makes Albany a destination, and they have something fun once they get here,” he said.

With the addition of the three pavilions, some of which are not completed, more people will be able to take advantage of the park during the warmer months. Prior to that construction, there was one covered shelter with picnic tables.

“I’ve seen at times groups with a DJ over there,” Johnson said, pointing toward the southeast corner. “They have a birthday party going on over there. Now they will have shady places to do it, more places to do it.

“Everybody has a nice time, and you can still watch your kids play. It gives you more options. That’s what I’m happy about.”

While the work won’t be completed for several months, Johnson said, the pavilions with tops of various colors draw attention from the highway overhead.

“Now I have a lot of people coming from Lee County, from Miller (brewery), from the Marine base,” he said. “They say ‘I’m not going to sit in the break room, I’m going to have lunch outside.’”

Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
AlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
AlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photos: Alan Mauldin
AlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]