DeKalb County officials and a group of local residents who have been cleaning and clearing Kittredge Park off North Druid Hills Road for the last several years broke ground last week on the park's county-funded renovation.
The group, which included county Commissioner Kathie Gannon and members of Friends of Kittredge Park, gathered around a ceremonial tree planting at 6 p.m. Thursday to mark the moment.
Alan Pinsker, a member of the group, filled Patch in last week on what's been done and what's in store for the park:
Friends of Kittredge Park, comprised of residents from several surrounding homeowners' associations, has been diligently working in the park virtually every month over the past 4 years to remove literally tons of invasive species (privet, wisteria English ivy, etc.), clear several trails through the woods, and plant indigenous species. Over the years, thousands of volunteers have worked in the park from Emory University, Oglethorpe University, The Home Depot, Bank of America, Hands on Atlanta, The Boy Scouts of America, and numerous church groups.
Improvements to the park (which are featured on the master plan that's posted on FKP's FaceBook page), include enhancing the entrance to the park at the end of Kittredge Park Drive, repaving the driveway into the park, installing additional parking within the park and a new pervious pathway from the main park entrance to the secondary entrance off of Holly Lane -- which will allow for handicap access and families with strollers. A new bridge will be installed to replace the one that washed away a few years ago, thereby re-establishing access to the southside of the park, and the former driveway that once provided access to a private residence at the top of the hill will be stabilized for hiking to the hilltop, where there will be an open-air gathering place. The large field in the center of the park will be evened-out to support picnics and gaming, such as Frisbee In 2012, The Home Depot installed several benches and picnic tables throughout the park, as well as a beautiful deck overlooking the waterfall. Additional benches and trash receptacles will be installed as part of this project. Future plans for the park call for a community playground at the Holly Lane entrance, as well as another bridge across the stream adjacent to the two baseball fields which will provide a full loop trail through the entire park. Friends of Kittredge Park is in the process of obtaining its 501.c.3 status, and has been working closely with Park Pride to support our efforts, in both working in the park and fund raising for improvements.
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