The City of Union is moving ahead with its “pocket parks” initiative, aiming to provide residents with more outdoor recreation options.
Pocket parks are small, hidden public spaces that offer additional green space and recreational opportunities in urban and suburban areas. At a commission meeting on Tuesday, Union Mayor Larry Solomon updated the legislative body on the development progress of the city’s six pocket parks.
Solomon said the idea came from a request from residents to add more green spaces throughout the city.
He explained that Union acquired the five parcels of land from the state approximately one year ago. He noted that they were not big enough for either commercial or residential development throughout the construction of Mt. Zion Road, also known as KY-536.
“These parcels of land were small enough that they [the state] could not sell again for houses, or they could not use for the street,” Solomon said. “What they did was provide those parcels of land to the city.”
In April, Union published a notice to potential bidders for its first of six pocket parks. Solomon said Pocket Park One, also known as Cardinal Park, will feature a bench for walkers using the sidewalk system near Mt. Zion Road.
Furthermore, Solomon stated that no event parking would be installed near the parcels.
“It’s just utilizing those five parcels of land and converting them into green space,” he said. “That’s what we were doing, and we designated them to be walking parks.”
The scope of work involves the construction of a sidewalk at 1565 Sycamore Dr. and the installation of trees, plants and yard hydrants.
Besides Cardinal Park, the other five are named after the bluebird, goldfinch, sparrow, dove and hummingbird.
Public Works Director Paul Kremer said his department mailed the ledgers to update neighbors of the impending installation of Cardinal Park.
“Pocket Park One–just for awareness–we sent out two rounds of letters over nine to 12 months ago, informing the neighbors,” he said. “We sent another round out weeks ago.”
Funding for these parks comes from the city’s growth fund, a financial reserve allocated to support infrastructure and development projects that accommodate the city’s population growth. The fund is financed through the collection of payroll taxes.
Currently, there is no public timeline available regarding the completion of Cardinal Park.
