Greensburg unveils design for Spring Avenue Park revamp

Apr. 5—Greensburg resident Luis Sanchez and his family are eager to try out updated amenities planned at Spring Avenue Park, which faces the front door of their Menoher Way home.

"It's going to be really good for so many kids," Sanchez said. That includes his 10-year-old daughter, Gianna, who has fun on the swings and other equipment in the playground of the 5th Ward park.

"We enjoy having a park here for her," he said. "We come here and play with our dogs. In my free time, I enjoy sitting on the bench in the shade."

City officials have worked to come up with a plan for revitalizing the underused park at Spring Avenue and Grove Street. The city expects to seek bids for construction at the park in July.

"Now we have an actual design we can show," said Glenn Moyer, the city's superintendent of parks and recreation.

A flyer with a diagram depicting how the recreational site will be revamped was unveiled at Monday's city council agenda meeting. It will be posted online, and banners will be placed at the construction site.

The design calls for an upgraded basketball half court near Spring Avenue with an updated playground area farther from the street. A large open activity field is shown surrounded by a walking path that separates the grassy area from the playground.

The project had been budgeted at $600,000 but has since been pared down, Councilman Randy Finfrock said. The last cited cost estimate was $535,000.

Items that have been deferred include construction of a pavilion and potential expansion of the basketball area to a full court, Finfrock said.

"There's still space for them," he said of additional amenities. "There's the potential to expand them as money becomes available."

City officials have envisioned the reconstructed park as "the collective front porch of the neighborhood."

Council already had ordered the updated playground equipment from Sports and Recreation Associates at a cost of little more than $270,000. That purchase will be covered with federal Community Development Block Grant funds channeled through Westmoreland County — as will much of the remaining costs of the park project.

The play area will offer handicapped-accessibility, Moyer said, and will feature a rubber mulch base material. "It's a long-lasting, low-maintenance item," he said.

The park will be bordered by updated sidewalks. City public works crews recently demolished the existing sidewalk and basketball court.

"The playground will be removed next, and the park will be closed until construction is complete," Moyer said.

He said the city is awaiting delivery of construction fencing.

When the construction is complete, Finfrock said, there will be some permanent fencing that will help contain activity at the ball court. "There is a history of kids chasing basketballs out into the street," he said.

Some adjacent on-street parking spaces will be unavailable during the construction.

In addition to the Spring Avenue site, the city maintains seven other neighborhood playgrounds. It also operates St. Clair Park, which features the Robertshaw Amphitheater and the Lynch Field complex, including an aerobics center, Veterans Memorial Pool and the Kirk S. Nevin ice arena, which will undergo renovation this year.

The city is tapping additional block grant funding of about $188,000 to help update playground equipment at Lynch Field, the Northmont Tot Lot and the Barry Court and Coulter playgrounds.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .