STATE COLLEGE — Development of the Whitehall Road Regional Park is moving forward.
The park has been planned for Ferguson Township for some time, but there have been many questions, from environmental to recreational concerns, through the years about the recreation area.
Pamela Salokangas, director of Centre Region Parks and Recreation, told the Centre Region Council of Governments general meeting on Aug. 27 that Phase 1 development of the park is “moving forward as planned, and there is no intent at this time to make any changes.
“We are doing our best to provide a robust park that is environmentally sound, not harmful for the environment, and provide a play space needed for everyone in the community,” said Salokangas. CRPR has the authority to move forward on the park plans, despite disagreement among others in the community about the park’s purpose.
Salokangas shared the plan after more than an hour of comments from community members about the park, some looking for more sports fields and others looking to preserve natural areas in the community. There were no changes made to the plan for the park at the meeting, but the report did include some changes to the original plan.
According to Salokangas, the original plan, developed in 2013, had to be downgraded in scope because of rising construction costs and a finite amount of general funding. There is $4.8 million available for the first phase of the development. Currently, the budget estimate for the project is more than that amount.
“Our intent continues to be to look for other funding sources. We are not yet ready to move into the land development process. We have been saying that, along the way, we still have many decisions to make,” said Salokangas.
The development of the controversial The Cottages at State College in the adjacent lot will provide water infrastructure that will save the park a sizeable amount of money, she said.
The original plan for the park had called for two shelters and a restroom, storage and concession stand building that CRPR has decided to combine into one building to provide a better investment. The design will include a year-round shelter, something that Salokangas said is not available in any other park in the region. Solar use is an option for the building.
The updated Phase 1 plans also include a fully accessible playground, which was not part of the original plan and is larger than the original playground design for the park.
“So, families that have children with disabilities and also children that are able-bodied can play together as a family,” said Salokangas.
The current plan also includes four rectangular grass fields and a walking trail. A wooded area that is currently in the park site will remain, along with three open areas, two of which will be graded for practice and parking and one that will remain ungraded.
Plans to add synthetic turf and lighting to the field were originally included in Phase 4, said Salokangas, adding that if they decide to include that change into Phase 1 it will be brought forward for review.
A community concern has been that the park will not include a natural area. Salokangas said there are many natural areas in the region, and this park will include active recreation areas that the community has been asking for, along with developed trails that will lead to state forest land through Musser Gap.
The trail system will include 2 1/2 miles of trails. As part of Phase 2, the plan looks to leave some areas undeveloped that are currently farmed and restore them to natural areas by planting native grasses to make the area environmentally friendly.
“Whitehall Road Regional Park will have a lovely walking and hiking trail. That trail will continue to connect people from the borough and Ferguson Township to Musser Gap,” said Salokangas. She said they are working to make the park “as green as possible.”
“There is some work to provide shade at this park, and that is something that we are working on.”
Options for parking, road paving and deciding what amenities are necessary for Phase 1 are under review, according to Salokangas. There is a possibility that only three fields may be included in Phase 1 as a cost savings.
“Centre Parks and Rec and the (CRPR) Authority have been working hard to get something concrete in place to develop this park, and I will remind everybody that the authority has the authority to develop this park,” said Bruce Lord, who is the head of the COG’s parks committee and a Harris Township supervisor.
