Before Cypress was even a city, there was Arnold Cypress Park.
The park, in the northern end of the city, is home to the Cypress Girls Softball League, pickleball matches, picnics and other games. But the 74-year-old park presents public safety concerns, city officials say, due to its unlighted courts, aging infrastructure and difficult-to-monitor areas that lead to vandalism and other issues.
So the City Council has greenlit $33.5 million to improve the park — a project that will require it to be stripped of its current amenities and rebuilt with new ones.
Construction will begin in December and be completed in early 2025, according to the city’s timeline.
The new park will include four softball fields, with three of them grouped in a circle in the center of the park, meant to be convenient for parents with multiple children who play in the league, said Jeff Draper, the city’s director of Recreation and Community Services.
It will also feature lighted volleyball and basketball courts, eight lighted pickleball courts, a half-mile walking path, a fitness area, a playground with shade, new restrooms and concession stand and ample parking so visitors won’t need to park on the neighborhood’s streets, officials said. News trees will also be planted.
The new Arnold Cypress Park is also designed in a way to provide improved visibility for law enforcement to be able to see into the park from the street and parking lots, said Draper, and includes more lighting and security cameras.
“The goal of the park is basically to be a place where families can spend the day — whether they’re there for softball, pickleball, a picnic, whatever it may be,” said Draper. “Our goal is to make it a destination park, and that’s what we feel we have done with this.”
“The transformation of this 74-year-old park is two decades in the making. We’re not talking about replacing a swing or adding a shade cover; we’re talking about starting from below the…
Read the full article here
