FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2019
Contact: Ted Jack
Park Planning Superintendent
Parks and Recreation Department
(479)444-3469
tjack@fayetteville-ar.gov
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Gregory Park Improvements Now on Saturday November 16
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— The ribbon-cutting ceremony and community event celebrating the completion of improvements at Gregory Park has been changed to Saturday, November 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. The new date and time creates a better opportunity to celebrate the children, adults, neighbors, volunteers, and collaborators who have given time, labor, and resources for the project.
Gregory Park is located at 69 E. Sycamore Street. Parking is limited, and attendees are encouraged to use alternative transportation. Ozark Regional Transit’s route #10 stops directly in front of the N. College Ave. McDonald's.
Gregory Park was donated to the City of Fayetteville by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1964 and serves as a centrally located 19-acre natural area. Uncle Sam’s Safari Outfitter, a locally-owned military surplus and outdoor supply store, adopted the park in 2017. The property is an outside resource for employees and visitors of nearby businesses, the adjacent Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, and for students and staff of the nearby Woodland Middle School and Elizabeth Richardson Development Center.
A proposal for park improvements that would serve both mountain bikers and trail walkers was presented to the City in 2012 by the Ozark Off-Road Cyclists (OORC), a Northwest Arkansas mountain bicycle advocacy group. The goal was to create courses for beginner and intermediate level mountain bicyclists as well as for school teams participating in the new National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) programs. With a recommendation from Steuart Walton and Tom Walton, OORC secured a grant from the Walton Family Foundation. Completion of the project was made possible through City funds, additional grants, and donations of resources and significant volunteer time.
The existing loop trail was enhanced, and two new soft-surface trails were created. Mountain biking additions include a modular concrete pump track, a modular skills course, two gravity-flow downhill bicycle trails, and a kiosk with trail map and information. New benches, terraces and an accessible picnic table allow for spectator views of the courses.
Additional park improvements include new signage, a boulder field and a “hammock hangout” constructed as an Eagle Scout Service project. Artist Jason Jones created a mural depicting an Arkansas-native skink on one of the wooden trail features. The mural was donated to the City of Fayetteville from OORC with support from Experience Fayetteville.
The parking and pavilion area was reconfigured to serve as a trail head and gathering place for groups and individuals, with an accessible pathway. Construction also included native stone walls on the steep site, as well as addition of features that help maintain water quality.
Other project collaborators include 81 Construction Group, Progressive Trail Design, Illinois River Watershed Partnership, McDonald’s, and numerous volunteers.
Fayetteville residents, through public meetings and surveys, have expressed a strong desire for parks that provide contact with nature and opportunities to be active. To learn more about the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and projects, please visit this section of the City’s website.
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