The Friends of Clark Park
Planning Committee and Studio Bryan Hanes have been hard at work renovating the North Park of Clark Park. But they aren’t done yet. The team is now starting the process of studying how to improve the Middle and South (the least used area) Parks between Chester and Woodland Avenues with park-reshaping design ideas, and they are looking for advice.

The largest changes that were planned in 2001 for these two parts of Clark Park were a gateway plaza on Woodland Avenue to the University of the Sciences campus and a plan to make the Kingsessing parking lot another plaza with seating. All the land south of the parking lot is owned by USP, which has a long-term lease from the city, so all of FoCP plans will “be done with an eye toward the University’s needs as well as it means,” according to their site. FoCP also plans to look into a laying down turf in the highly trafficked areas that can’t seem to grow grass, such as The Bowl, the mostly filled-in location of a former pond that was fed by the Mill Creek. The Clark Park Revitalization Master Plan budget was estimated to be around $175k, but this study should, according to FoCP, be much less. The Planning Committee is welcoming participation and suggestions from the community to see if the park should have permanent tables, sculptures, fountains, etc. We suggest bringing back the shuffleboard court! —-Caitlin Connors