LAUREL PARK – Laurel Green has reopened after a year-long closure due to extensive stream restoration projects and a thorough cleanup of the popular playground.
Laurel Park officials closed the city’s park and playground in May 2023 to begin the project. A grand reopening would take place in May 2024 with a ceremonial ribbon cutting by Mayor Carey O’Cain and North Carolina Republican Senator Tim Moffitt.
“We wanted to reopen it before school let out,” said acting city administrator Cara Reeves.
“The park amenities were not altered, but they were thoroughly cleaned,” Reeves said. The larger undertaking was restoring the creek, and a 2021 city YouTube video about the project explains that the creek has become a growing concern over the years.
“The section of the creek through Laurel Green Park is suffering from severe bank erosion, channel instability that threatens infrastructure, and deteriorating water quality,” the video’s voiceover says.
City staff and landscape planners wanted to stop the deterioration and improve water quality, stormwater runoff and wildlife habitat. In 2019, an engineering firm investigated the causes and identified ways to improve the creek.
They found that the stream had been negatively altered by straightening and piping, the natural riparian buffer zone had been removed and replaced by grass, and important morphological elements in the stream – such as steps, pools and rapids – were missing.
This caused erosion, unstable banks and an unhealthy habitat, the video said. Land use changes throughout the watershed were identified as the cause, which is why the city commissioned a study of the area above the park.
The Laurel Park Watershed Improvement Study showed that streams in the city would continue to erode without rehabilitation. The section of the stream that runs through the park was identified as a “key rehabilitation point,” or the best opportunity for improvement, due to its location and public use.
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The city also considered the future impacts of the Ecusta Trail, which is under construction and borders part of the park.
“A beautifully restored creek could be a showpiece for the city and create another reason for people to stop and enjoy Laurel Park’s amenities and shops,” the video says.
The city had three goals for the restoration project: improve water quality, improve wildlife habitat, and improve human-stream interaction. A team of engineering and landscape architecture firms was hired to develop a conceptual design to help the city apply for grants.
The creek redesign includes stepped basin structures that provide targeted access points, including near the playground; newly graded banks; boardwalks; floodplain activation areas that absorb water during high flows; wetland habitat; and a riparian corridor to strengthen root systems that slow erosion, filter pollutants, and provide shelter and food for wildlife.
The work was carried out by Robinson Design Engineers, Watermark, Roots First and Conserving Carolina and was funded with the help of grants.
In addition, a portable toilet has been set up for the public and will remain there throughout the fall, Reeves said.
Since it reopened in May, families have been flocking to the playground again. One of the most popular features is a giant castle with a spiral staircase for children to climb and a sandpit underneath.
Hendersonville resident Sharon White watched her grandchildren, 2-year-old Banks Beckwith and 4-year-old Harrison Beckwith, bury a toy horse in the sand on Aug. 12 and said they enjoy being outside. Family members often walk to the park and attended the grand reopening.
“I think it’s beautiful. They did a great job,” White said. “There are a lot of trees here. The kids call it ‘Lighthouse Park.'”
Reeves said she has heard a lot of similar feedback from residents and visitors. “The park is very, very busy. A lot of people have complimented it and are happy that it is open in the summer,” she added.
Use of the park may increase once the Ecusta Trail is fully opened to the public.
“We’re working on figuring out how to work with the Ecusta Trail,” Reeves said. “That will bring a lot of activity to the park.”
The goal for now is to focus on maintaining the “refreshed” park.
“I think it’s beautiful,” Reeves said. “Park engineer Bryan Hensley did a great job working alongside the folks at Conserving Carolina and the engineers who helped. It’s all done, but we need to make sure it looks that way.”
A YouTube video about the project can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=wE8QW0lvVkk.
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