June 2019 | Vol. 6 Iss. 06
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FREE only $ Scan Here: Interactive online edition with more photos.
GIVING ZING TO THE BING:
BINGHAM CREEK PARK GETS INPUT AT DAYBREAK OPEN HOUSE
50 count box! American Heritage School 11100 S. Redwood Rd., S. Jordan
15
or 3 for
40
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Saturday, June 15 • 8:30AM -3PM
By Jennifer J. Johnson | j.johnson@mycityjournals.com
I
t makes sense that what will be the largest regional park in the area would have the most engaged public outreach process. “I enjoy all parks with my grandkids,” said Walt Gilmore, associate director of Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation. “But,” he paused, first looking around a school gymnasium, featuring features and park construction milestones, added “this one … this one has a special place.” Daybreak residents getting say-so and showing-so via web and other strategies Bingham Creek Regional Park (The Bing) is now, literally, on the drawing board. Approved for $12 million in funding from the 2016 Parks and Recreation Bond and buoyed by $3 million from South Jordan, the regional park set to be the largest in the county is scheduled to see construction in fall 2020 and have its first phase open in fall 2021. SoJo residents are making sure they have their say on it. They have been having some say since 2017, when a group of interested, impassioned area residents led by current South Jordan/Daybreak City Councilman Jason McGuire, organized a Facebook group. McGuire took on the somewhat extraordinary step of hosting residents’ own visioning session, then lobbied to be included in the park’s master-planning process and even set up an aspirational website. The optimistic question of the “Better Places, Better Life website?” “What if Welby Park set a new design standard?” The “what if” section of the website features side-byside images of SLCO-standard park elements compared to Daybreak’s treatment of the same elements. Trails, pavilions, playgrounds and even toilets are shown, with the county photo looking like the sad, bloated-belly “before” image in a weight-loss product ad, and the Daybreak image being the stunning flat-tummy “after shot.” “The effectiveness of our efforts is still to be determined and will remain unknown until the final design drawings and renderings are shared with the public,” said McGuire, who added former County Mayor Ben McAdams attended the group’s meetings, listening to their concerns. Called a “generational park,” due to its elaborate scope, Bingham Creek Regional Park (The Bing) will be built in multiple phases, with first-phase Continued Page 5
construction due to begin fall 2020. (Photo Credit: Salt Lake County)
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