FY 2011 Popular Annual Financial Report FY 2011 Popular Annual Financial Report | Page 10
Neighborhoods
F
From new outdoor initiatives to further development of literacy
Today, we have
“ a park facility we can
all be proud of.
”
“It was important to us that every detail in this new playground,
programs and continuation of community assistance initiatives, the
no matter how small, was considered,” said Stephen Booher, a
City of Arlington positively impacted residents’ quality of life during
member of the Helping Restore Ability Board of Directors. “Today, we
the 2011 fiscal year.
have a park facility we can all be proud of.”
A partnership with Chevrolet and EcoMedia funded green
Outdoors
improvements at Randol Mill Park. EcoMedia’s EcoAd program,
which Chevrolet participates in, sets aside a portion of advertising
Arlington opened its first barrier-free playground at Randol Mill
Park to accommodate the City’s 6,000 children with disabilities.
dollars for eco-friendly projects. Chevrolet’s EcoAd grant funded
The playground, designed to allow every child easy access to all the
upgrades to the park that included sustainable landscaping around
play structures, was made possible by funds approved by voters in
the playground, newly planted trees, and solar panels on new
the 2005 Parks Bond Election, a $1,000 grant from the Arlington
buildings.
Tomorrow Foundation, and community partnerships with Crown Plaza
and Source Corp.
the City collaborated to create a first-of-its-kind community garden.
Along the green theme, the University of Texas at Arlington and
Seventy-eight garden plots were created on the university campus to
encourage healthy eating, promote sustainable food production for
the local community, and preserve open green spaces. As part of the
lease agreement, plot owners agree to donate at least half of their
harvest to nonprofits like Mission Arlington, which received its first
harvest in July.
For the outdoor enthusiast, a new 4.2-mile paddling trail on the
Trinity River at
River Legacy Parks
was dedicated
in 2011. It is the
second paddling
trail in Arlington,
Lake Arlington’s
11-mile paddling
trail opened in
2008.
Popular Annual Financial Report for 2011
10
“Challenge, Change, Celebrate, Congra