Langdon’s park revitalized
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Langdon Community Association (LCA) has officially announced the revitalization of Langdon Park, which will see several sporting courts and a community garden constructed in the area.
Chair of the LCA, Chrissy Craig, said the revitalization is long overdue and that the park will be an excellent place for the community to come together and enjoy local recreation.
“This is a really exciting project. In the centre of town, we have a park that is underutilized¬ — it’s got an old beach volleyball pit (and) the remnants of a playground that was removed (about) eight years ago,” said Craig. “This project is just transforming the park into an actual park that people will want to visit and gather and spend time in.”
The revitalization will include the construction of two tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, and a full size basketball court. Nearby, there will be several garden pods which will be available for community use, as well as other amenities.
“We also have a fire pit area and a gazebo area in which people can hang out, there can be musicians or theatre performances in this pavilion for people to gather around,” said Craig. “It’s set up with these different pods and areas so that if we ever get into a pandemic again, there are places for people to gather safely so the community can be together but apart and safe.”
The project is able to be realized due to a $476,916 grant from the federal government, through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF), as well as through a $200,000 contribution from Rocky View County, along with a further $200,000 from Accurate Screen and Grating.
The project was kickstarted by the donation made by Accurate Screen and Grating, after observing Langdon’s lack of recreation amenities, particularly for local youth.
Renovations at the park are already underway with the tennis and basketball courts nearly complete. Construction on that segment began in the summer of 2021 and was completed in the spring of 2022.
“It’s a huge budget because it’s a huge project. It’s a huge area (that) doesn’t look that big on paper but when you actually walk in the park, it takes up a whole quite big portion of the park,” said Craig. “The LCA has thought about how we can bring people back into the park for a really long time. It’s (part) of our main strategic planning because the park just doesn’t have a lot of things to bring into it.”
The project must be completed by Oct. 30 of this year, but the goal is to have it completed before the end of September.