Saturday, May 25, 2013

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Park Workers Prepare Green Spaces for Summer
City officials say stick to paved trails until parks dry out
By Heather Hintze
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ANCHORAGE - Anchorage Parks and Recreation staff are busy cleaning parks and playgrounds from all the garbage people dumped over the winter.

“I'm going around the parks, picking up trash, stick picking the parking lots and making sure they're clean,” said Cornelius Smith, a caretaker with the parks department.

He’s just one of dozens of workers getting the parks ready for all the people this summer. It's a big undertaking: The parks department is in charge of 223 parks, 80 playgrounds, 110 athletic fields and 250 miles of trails.

“The parks operation division, this is our busiest and most intense time of the year," said Superintendent Holly Spoth-Torres. "Most of our seasonal staff is on right now, we've got maintenance and horticulture staff who are focused on cleaning up parks, trails and right-of-ways.”

Spoth-Torres encourages runners and bikers to stick to pavement until the dirt trails dry out, and to stay off the baseball and soccer fields because they’re soaked from break up.

She says most of the playgrounds are looking good and have been checked for any damage the snow might have caused this winter. Park goers say so far, crews are doing a great job.

“I think they do, considering all they have going on," said Tiffany Vassar, who frequents the park with her daughter. "I'm happy as a parent coming to the park for the most part this season, but it's just starting so we'll see how they maintain it.”

Even with the snow lingering around, people can’t wait to get out and play. City staff are making sure everything is cleaned up by the time summer is in full swing.