New parks opening around metro Augusta (Savannah, Gordon: 2013, design, land)

[nortonguy]

The thread can be dedicated towards the new parks around the metro and upgrades to the local parks..

The city is building the Butler Creek Trailhead park(36 acres) at Hwy 56 aka Mike Padgett Hwy and Butler Creek in South Augusta.. The new park connects to the 1150 acre Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. The city will spend $100k in 2011, $58k in 2012, and $342k in 2013..

This new park project, currently under phase I design, will develop 36 acres of City owned and designated greenspace referred to as Butler Creek Trailhead Park. Funded through SPLOST VI, the development of this park site, which includes a portion of Butler Creek, would include parking and pedestrian access via a footbridge to the park from south of Butler Creek, a picnic shelter with rest rooms, a natural playground area and maintained open space.

This critical park development is part of the overall Butler Creek Green-way. The City of Augusta, in partnership with the Central Savannah River Land Trust, has assembled @80% of the land along Butler Creek from Lombard Mill Pond to Phinizy Swamp, a 1,150 acre nature park partnership with the City of Augusta and the Southeastern Natural Sci-ences Academy, consisting of newly created wetlands and natural swamp-lands.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...FZItlVBqCBrzwA

Phinizy Swamp Nature Park
YouTube - ‪Phinizy Swamp Nature Park‬‏

[nortonguy]

Great news for South Augusta..

Lombard Mill Pond Trail blends preservation, recreation | The Augusta Chronicle
The land trust, which manages the city of Augusta’s green-space program, hopes to tie the Lombard Mill Pond site with other parcels along Butler Creek to create a network of trails that will extend from Fort Gordon to Phinizy Swamp and the Savannah River.

The current trail, just longer than a quarter mile, will someday be expanded with bridges and boardwalks to become 2.5 miles. More trails can be added. To complete the entire corridor, the trust would need access to almost 600 acres. About 411 acres along the creek are owned by the trust or under easements that will prevent them from being developed.

A ribbon-cutting is planned for Oct. 19, but residents may use the area now, including parking pads at the trail head.

[cyclingdawg]

Great reclamation of the green space. It would be sweet if they rebuild the grist mill at Lombard Mill Pond.