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Two groundbreaking ceremonies were held on Monday, July 6, at both Veterans Park and Abbey Wooley Park in Alabaster to celebrate future upgrades. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

By ROBYN JAMES | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – The famous quote that parks and playgrounds are the soul of a city holds true for the city of Alabaster with its many diverse parks located across the city for residents to enjoy, and now two are about to receive major upgrades.

This week, city officials, staff, community leaders and planning professionals joined local residents to celebrate two groundbreaking ceremonies in honor of Veterans and Abby Wooley parks, both of which will see major enhancements made soon for park patrons to enjoy.

Veterans Park has different amenities to offer including walking trails, sporting fields, a dog park and ongoing community outreach and sporting events and will soon have more.

“With the purchase of the additional acreage a few years ago and now owned by the city, we have developed a very robust plan to make some innovative enhancements to Veterans Park,” said Alabaster City Administrator Brian Binzer.

The upgrades will include a brand new entrance to the park off Alabama 119 to provide easy access to the park with prominent signs and digital displays.

Other enhancements will include a state of the art walking trail, multi-purpose sporting fields, a food truck alley and new pavilions for all park patrons to enjoy.

Abby Wooley Park off Simsville Road is a smaller leisure park that is primarily frequented by the local residents who live close to the park and it will also see some new exciting upgrades.

Some of those enhancements include a new playground, upgraded bathrooms, walking trails and new basketball courts.

The planning and development phase of these projects has been extensive with a lot of support from the Shelby County Commission, parks and recreation staff, consultants, construction and engineer experts, and Alabaster residents.

“Everyone involved in the planning of both projects had a vision for Veterans and Abby Wooley parks, but we also understood the importance to involve our city residents, which are highly diverse, to make sure it was also their vision” said Alabaster Director of Alabaster Parks and Recreation Tim Hamm. “We took time on the front end to conduct community needs assessments and surveys involving all age groups that make up our city. The results were very positive and the community vision was aligned with our vision for the parks.”

When asked what impact these projects will have on the city and its residents, Hamm added, “to have the opportunity to make sure our parks have something for every resident to enjoy has always been a priority because our parks touch so many people, families, and lives.”

There is not a better time to visit one of Alabaster’s parks and more information can be found at the City of Alabaster website at Cityofalabaster.com or call the Parks and Recreation office at (205) 664-6840.

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