Tunnel

Pedestrian Tunnel Planned for White Oak Greenway

Tunnel

Cary, NC — Town of Cary has plans to complete the White Oak Creek Greenway, including a pedestrian tunnel under the railroad tracks near Davis Drive. A public information session to go over the plans is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, 2015. Read more

katal

Cary Parks: Who is KATAL the Dragon?

katal

Editor’s Note: Excerpts from this article were first published on the Cary Visual Art blog.

Cary, NC — I love the Kids Together playground at Marla Dorrel Park (off of Tryon Road and Cary Parkway) for many reasons. My favorite feature at the park, however, is KATAL the dragon. Read more

Nature

New Children’s Nature Trail Opens in Cary

Nature

Cary, NC — The Stevens Nature Center at Hemlock Bluffs has been the focus of many new ideas and approaches to nature education since it opened in 1992. The very latest addition–the Children’s Nature Trail–was dedicated by the Town of Cary on National Trails Day, June 6, 2015. Read more

Carpenter Park

Cary Breaks Ground on Carpenter Park & Memorial

Carpenter Park

Cary, NC — A brand-new Cary park will be home to a privately-funded memorial to recognize the victims of two planes crashes, one of which that occurred only one mile from the park’s site.

Read more

jack-smith-park

New Park to be Named for Jack Smith

jack-smith-park

Cary, NC —  The future community park at 9725 Penny Road now has an official name – Jack Smith Park – thanks to a unanimous vote by the Cary Town Council at their regular meeting on Thursday, September 11, 2014.

The Town Council’s action marks their colleague’s 25th year of service to the Cary community, a term that makes him the longest serving Council member on record as well as having been in office longer than any mayor in Cary’s history (even though Smith has never served as Mayor).

Other Cary elected officials with parks named for them include Fred G. Bond, Marla Dorrel, Robert V. Godbold, Harold D Ritter, and Thomas E. Brooks

Amenities in the Park

Located in southern Cary, the 50-acre Jack Smith Park was once home to the Bartley family farm. The new park will include the Town’s first spray ground, a major children’s play area, the Town’s second dog park, a climbing rock, picnic shelters, paved and unpaved trails, and an open lawn area. Upon completion, public art pieces by North Carolina artists will be installed near the play area, and will include whirligigs by folk artist Vollis Simpson and a grouping of sheep sculptures by William Moore.  Funding for this project was approved by Cary voters in 2012 as part of the Community Investment Bonds referendum.

Groundbreaking

The community is invited to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jack Smith Park on Saturday, September 27 at 2 p.m. Guests are asked to park at Oak Grove Elementary at 10401 Penny Road and take the complimentary C-Tran shuttles to and from the park site.

The Town of Cary currently has 30 parks, with several areas “landbanked” for future use including an area off Roberts Road in Western Cary and adjacent to the Cameron Pond neighborhood West of NC 55.

Link to view Park Site Plan.

kids together

Kids Together Playground Gets a Renovation

Volunteers helping to renovate the Kids Together Playground

Volunteers helping to renovate the Kids Together Playground

Cary, NC- After 14 years of play, the large, Climb & Slide structure in the Kids Together Playground was showing signs of wear and tear. Read more

wooly-adelgid

They’re Back – Bugs Attack Hemlock Bluffs

wooly-adelgid

Cary, NC- Several years ago, the hemlocks at Cary’s Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve were threatened by an invasive pest. They are called Wooly Adelgids, and they are back. Read more

downtown-park-cary-nc

Public Sees Downtown Park Plans

Citizens take a look at plans for the Downtown Park and fountain

Citizens take a look at plans for the Downtown Park and fountain

Cary, NC — The Town of Cary held the second in a series of public information sessions about the soon-to-be constructed Downtown Park and streetscape improvement plans on Monday May 12, 2014. Many visitors expressed pleasure with what they saw as well as impatience. Read more

downtown park

First Look at Downtown Park Plans

downtown park

Cary, NC –  Have you been wondering what’s going on with the Downtown Park plans?
Read more

kids together

Kids Together Playground – 10 Years of Universal Play

marla-dorrel-park-kids-together-playground-dragon

Cary, NC- It’s been ten years since Marla Dorrel helped open Kids Together Playground at a park that would later bear her name. She helped two children accomplish their dream for a place where all children would have a chance to play regardless of ability or disability. Read more