Splash Pad Transforms Into Town Ice Rink?! Check Out ALL That is Coming to Erie’s Coal Creek Park!

Coal Creek Park, the main downtown park for Erie, will be playground-less no more! If you’ve been in Erie a while, you know that Coal Creek Park was the location for summer concerts, town festivals, etc., but now it will be a true town gathering location. The future of Coal Creek Park includes a splash pad, nature-themed playground, ice rink and a memorial walk. Keep reading to see all that is planned for Erie in 2023!

Why Update Coal Creek Park?

There are so many new neighborhoods being built in Erie, you may ask why Coal Creek was chosen for the most recent update. With all of the business growth in the downtown area and Erie’s focus on town gatherings, there are many reasons to put focus here. I asked Luke Bolinger, CPRP, Development & Neighborhood Services Division Manager for Erie Parks and Recreation and this was his response:

“I made the decision to join Erie Parks & Recreation in summer of 2018.  When my family and I visited old town to “scope out the place,” I took a walk down to Coal Creek Park.  I walked the entire park and my first thought was, “boy, this park needs some work!”  At that time, I didn’t know that the Town had already put together an impressive plan with input from our community.  One of my first projects in Erie was to help our team get to 100% construction documents in hopes that we would build in the near future.  Fast forward to 2022 and the park is mere months from completion.  It’s crazy to think that one of the first parks in Erie I visited was a park I would get to help rebuild and it’s a great feeling knowing that this community will have an iconic park for generations to come.”

Coal Creek Park Plans

As you’ll see in the plan below, there are many aspects to be excited about (I’m a little biased toward the playground 😉 ).

• Splash Pad, Playground and Memorial Walk explained in more detailed sections following the plan
• More parking has been added in the lot and along both Kattell St and Cheesman St
• Large shade structures with picnic tables and a building for restrooms, storage and concessions/ice skate rentals
• Smaller building for Zamboni storage and splash pad mechanical.
• New, transplanted and existing trees will surround the large open lawn.

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Splash Pad in Summer, Ice Rink in Winter?!

Check out this fantastic idea…a splash pad in the summer will be covered to become the town ice rink in the winter! A great use of space for two amenities the families of Erie will LOVE! There will be a large structure for concessions, skate rentals and bathrooms, and a separate building for the splash area mechanicals and Zamboni storage.

**Want to go ice skating right now? Check out Erie’s Ice Rink at https://erieco.gov/IceRink before it closes on February 20th.

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Maddie’s Playground & Memorial Walk

Local Erie residents, the McDaniel family, have been working with Erie Parks and Recreation to create a beautiful playground in memory of their daughter Maddie. According to maddiesmemory.org, “Maddie’s Playground will feature nature-themed playground equipment, butterfly structures, splash pad – and closest to our hearts: a memorial walk.” Thank you to All Around Recreation for providing the rendering below to give us an early visual of the playground layout.

The Memorial Walk will be along the sidewalk on the East side of the giant lawn area. It will display memorial stones for local children who have passed away and provide a beautiful, peaceful location for families to visit.

Erie resident, and co-owner of nearby Cristos Coffee, Barry Luginbill shared the following with me about why the Memorial Walk is so important. “My son passed away almost 19 years ago and we had him cremated so he could be with us all the time but, when that marriage separated, I was also separated from my son. I regularly regret not having him buried so I could have a place to sit in peace and be with him. This park and this project will provide me a place to sit in peace and be with my son…a place his brothers and sisters can sit and be with him, a place with the sound of kids playing in pure joy. This is an absolute blessing around something so incredibly tragic.”

Thank You GOCO!

In addition to town funding, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) has contributed funding to the Coal Creek Park project through their Community Impact program. GOCO’s Community Impact Program develops and revitalizes parks, trails, school yards, fairgrounds, environmental education facilities, and other outdoor projects that enhance community’s quality of life and access to the outdoors. In a grant awarded to the Town of Erie, GOCO provided $555,956 for the Park Redevelopment Project. The press release stated “Events held at Coal Creek drive pedestrian traffic to Downtown Erie – supporting the local economy – and the park provides residents and visitors an opportunity to engage with the outdoors, which has proved to be an important outlet for mental and physical health during the pandemic.”

The new features at Coal Creek Park will bring joy to so many Erie residents. It will provide a place to play, walk, splash and remember our loved ones, a true gem for Downtown Erie.

Thanks for joining us at Slides & Sunshine. Now it’s time to get out there and PLAY!

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