First Level Walls of the Maplewood Barn are up

Sircal Construction just completed the first level walls. Next they'll install the beams and columns for the second level and roof. Considering they started last week and lost a couple days to weather it's going up pretty quickly.

GoColumbiaMO Stormwater Utility: Green Roof AND Green WALLS

GoColumbiaMO Stormwater Utility: Green Roof AND Green WALLS

Green roof trip

Dr. Hwei-Yiing Johnson, State Agronomist with Cooperative Extension at Lincoln University hosted a tour of the Allen T. Busby Farm that showcases some of her research on green roof/facade and food mulching/composting. A mix of City, County and University professionals visited the site to learn more about these activities.



Dr.Johnson's excitement and enthusiasm were not dampened by the cold north wind!

Installed green roof and multiple applications of green facades.

Maplewood Barn walls are going up

Sircal Construction started installing the wall panels for the new barn yesterday. These panels are constructed of OSB with foam in between. They have great insulation and, once connected together, form a very sturdy wall and roof system. Plus they go up very quickly. The "barn" should be be looking like a barn pretty soon. Then the interior work should begin.

Scotts Branch Trail

The 8' wide concrete trail from Rollins to Weaver has been completed. We will begin back filling the trail with soil, placing straw mulch and spreading winter wheat for erosion control as soon as the weather allows.

2011 RTP Non-Motorized Trail Interpretive Sign Grant

The City of Columbia Parks and Recreation is pleased to announce that we are a recipient of the 2011 RTP Interpretive/Educational Grant . Please click here to see the news release or here to learn more about the grant. This grant in the amount of $20,000 will be used to install a system of interpretive signs, and provide educational materials for the general public. This is an important grant as it will allow the city to share important information about the site and it's functions for the City and it's downstream neighbours.

3M Urban Ecology Restoration Grant digging in.

Volunteer Columbia had a great turn out for the Native Tree Planting event this past weekend at the 3M Urban Ecology Restoration Project. Volunteer Columbia has posted photos of the event here. Thanks to all who participated in this first of several planting events that will be held here.

Twin Lakes Recreation Area road is open

The final course of asphalt was installed today on the Twin Lakes Recreation Area entry road. There's still a lot to do and clean up but the road is open. Please keep an eye out for crews and materials such as top soil along the road.

Scotts Branch Trail

Work has begun on the first part of the Scotts Branch Trail. We are starting at Weaver St. and working our way back to Rollins Road with the 8' wide concrete trail.


Approximately 1/3 of the trail from Weaver to Rollins is completed. We have some grading and culvert pipe work to do and then, weather permitting, we should be able to complete the section from Weaver St. to Rollins Road by Dec. 1, 2011. Finish grading work, seeding and straw work will be ongoing into the Spring.

Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary

The grading for the parking lot at Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary is nearing completion. We have begun placing the gravel base rock to prepare the site for asphalt.

Maplewood Barn Update-Footing dug

The footing for the new barn was dug earlier today. Rebar will be placed and concrete should be poured in the footing. The slab should follow shortly. After that the pre-engineered panels will arrive and should go up quickly.

Base course of asphalt laid at Twin Lakes Rec Area

The base course of asphalt was laid earlier today at Twin Lakes Recreation Area. If the weather stays as predicted the final asphalt will be installed on Friday (11/18). There's still ditch work, removal of some old asphalt, seeding/strawing and landscaping to do but the road will be open. But please keep an eye out for crews doing the finishing work.

Twin Lake Rec Area Paving

The majority of the rock work got done in record time. Now the weather needs to cooperate a bit. There needs to be about 3 dry week days in row so the portions of the road getting an overlay can be swept and then the entire length of the road can be paved.

Hopefully the sweeping can occur on Monday or Tuesday of next week (11/14) with the paving immediately after.

3M Urban Ecology Restoration Grant takes to the air.

On 10/30/2011 Parks & Rec and the Stormwater Educator took part in an interview about the 3M wetlands project, amongst others. Please click to hear what was discussed. For additional information on KFRU's programming please click here.

Treekeepers and C.A.R.P event scheduled for Saturday, November 19th 2011

Treekeepers and C.A.R.P are co-hosting a native tree and shrub planting event scheduled for Saturday, November 19th 2011 at the site of the Urban Ecology Restoration Project funded in part by the 3M Foundation. Join us as we plant close to 500 trees and 500 shrubs suited for wetland and bottomland woods environment. Free snacks and beverages will be available to participants!! Exercise is FREE!!!

TLRA work is moving quickly

The work for the road repairs is going rather quickly. Both the old pipes have been replaced and three new ones have been installed. A lot of the rock work was completed as well. All of this in three days. And while getting the drive re-opened by 3 pm.

The next step is working on the ends on the entry road. Work will start at the south end (near the lots). Later this week the work will move to actual entrance. When the entrance work occurs NO PARKING ANYWHERE ALONG THE ROAD WILL BE POSSIBLE. Some people have been parking near the entrance. Please realize that there is a lot of construction traffic, especially rock trucks. If you park anywhere along the road your vehicle may be damaged. Please either walk in or use one of the other dog parks during the day.

Please be aware that conditions are changing daily on the site. This is a work in progress and our hope is finish quickly. This means that a lane that was not too bumpy today may be very uneven tomorrow. Materials that were far away from the road edge yesterday may be right next to it today.

Please keep an eye out for changing conditions, materials, equipment and especially personnel.

10-18-2011 removal of Invasive Honeysuckle from 3M UERP

As part of the partnership agreement with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation's grant conservation measures, our Forestry crew removed the majority of the Invasive Honeysuckle that has been growing on the northern embankment of the M-K-T trail. The activity is also being done in preparation for the undergrounding of the existing overhead power lines that parallel the trail. This undergrounding work is a partnership between Parks & Recreation and Water & Light.

The two main values to the citizens of Columbia and goals of this particular activity will be;

1. Elimination of the maintenance need to trim trees along alignment, thereby reducing the expenditure of monies for this work and the common problem of tree topping or killing of trees.

and

2. Bringing the view shed of the site back to what the natural area would look like without human influence.

We hope you enjoy this new outdoor recreational area as we finish out our work over the winter months.

Also, keep and eye out for the Get-About project that is slated to begin in the Spring that will connect Katy Parkway to the M-K-T Trail winding through the wooded hillside above the wetlands site.

Twin Lakes Rec Area Road Repairs Starting Wednesday October 26. Road and Lots closed during 7AM-3PM weekdays

Just a reminder...

The repair work for the Twin Lakes Recreation Area entry road begins tomorrow (Wednesday 10/26). The road and parking lots will be closed to public traffic from 7AM to 3PM Monday to Friday. The road and lots will be open after 3PM weekdays and on the weekends.

This closure is necessary so the work for the road repair can proceed safely. And while the road will be open in the evenings and on weekends please be careful and attentive. There will possible lane closures, loose rock, equipment and materials in the area. The road will probably be quite rough as well.

The Parks and Recreation Dept is anticipating the work to take several weeks. Once the rock work is done the asphalt will only take a day or two.

The blog will be updated with more info, schedules, closures etc.

Please be patient and careful. With some good weather there should be a new road in a couple weeks.

Shepard tennis courts are completed!

The replacment of two tennis courts at Shepard School/ Park is complete. We still have soil, seed and straw work left around the courts, but the courts themselves are ready for public use. There are also 4 new basketball goals on the courts and lines for pickle-ball play. We hope you enjoy Columbia's newest tennis courts.

Twin Lakes Rec Area Road and Parking Lots Closure Beginning Wednesday October 26, 2011

Beginning Wednesday October 26 the Twin Lakes Recreation Area entry road and parking lots will be CLOSED TO ALL PUBLIC TRAFFIC during the hours of 7 am to 3 pm Monday-Friday. The road and lots will be re-opened each evening and on the weekends. There will be construction traffic but no private traffic will be allowed. These closures will remain in effect until the road work is completed. If the weather holds, the work should be completed in mid November.

The park will remain open during these hours. However no traffic will be allowed on the road or on the parking lots. If you'd like to access the park during weekdays please use the MKT Trail from either Forum Nature Area or the MKT access at Scott Blvd. You can also use the new County House Trail that starts at Stadium Blvd and College Park Dr.

If you're looking for a place to run your dog during the day it may be easier to use one of the two other fenced dog parks at Garth Nature Area and at Indian Hills Park. Off leash areas are available at Grindstone Nature Area and in Cosmo Park- Bear Creek Nature Area. See the Leash-Free Areas for Dogs page for more info.

After 3 pm weekdays and on weekends the road will be passable. However, work may still be going on. Please watch for lane closures, loose rock, bumps and uneven pavement. Also watch for equipment, construction materials and any directions you're given from workers on site.

This will be a challenging project trying to balance getting the road back into shape and allowing for some access. Please be patient and watchful.

Twin Lakes Rec Area Entry Road work to begin soon

If the weather holds and other projects cooperate, the work to repair the entry road at Twin Lakes Recreation Area (TLRA) will begin in a couple weeks.

This work will require the road to be CLOSED TO ALL PUBLIC TRAFFIC during the hours of 7 am to 3 pm Monday-Friday. The road will be re-opened each evening and on the weekends.

If you need to access the park during the day Monday-Friday, please use the MKT Trail or the new County House Trail. Both will remain open during the road closures.

The dog park will be open. However access during the day will only be via the MKT or County House Trails. The two other fenced dog parks available at Garth Nature Area and at Indian Hills Park. Off leash areas are available at Grindstone Nature Area and in Cosmo Park- Bear Creek Nature Area. Please see our off-leash info webpage.

This closure is for the safety of the public. There will be impassable areas, trenching for pipes and many rock trucks. All of these present safety hazards to people and property.

The closure is also necessary so the construction work can proceed quickly. Every time construction is stopped for a passing car, bike or pedestrian adds to the length of the road closure.

If you have questions/comments please call 874-7201 or e-mail Toney Lowery at ajlowery@gocolumbiamo.com

Parks & Rec Presence on Google Maps

Over the last several months the Parks and Recreation Department has been reviewing it's presence on Google Maps. In the Spring of 2011 it was noticed that there were only four of the system's parks shown and with one exception, none were correctly shown. Since then there has been a concerted effort to represent the park system more accurately and show the amenities and trails as best as the technology will allow. We invite you to browse each park and let us know what we might have overlooked!

"Houston we have base rock" 9-27-2011

Forestry has brought in almost all the base rock for the perimeter trail. Tomorrow the rock with be graded in preparation for the surface rock. There is still quite a bit of rock and soil work to do at the far south end of the trail( where it meets the M-K-T). So for the meantime there will be a period where no connectivity between the two remains.

Today the last concrete pour was made at the pump house building, to fill in the window, door and floor openings. Now the count starts for 28 days before back filling operations can commence. Back filling will be the first stage in the preparation for the green of the structure.

Urban Ecology Restoration Project 9-23-2011

Non-woven geo-fabric has been installed in preparation for trail base rock material. The installation of geo-fabric reduces the amount of base rock required to build a trail, thereby reducing the time and cost of trail installation and maintenance. This is a pilot project for a greener way of trail construction.

Forestry's four man permanent crew will continue their efforts to get this trail built and open for users as fast as they possibly can while contending with the many other responsibilities and projects they have to work on concurrently.

Maplewood Barn site work begins

Work has started on the rebuilding of the Maplewood barn. The concrete floor of the original barn has been demoed and the regrading of the site has started. This work is to prep the site for the new barn. The work on the new building should started soon. The bid has been awarded and the contracts/bonding are being worked on now.

Playground at Cosmo Bethel Park has been replaced!

The playground at Bethel Park has been replaced following the fire that burned down the uppermost playground and slides. This very popular playground is now fully operational. Enjoy!

3M Urban Ecology Restoration Project gets more visitors...the two legged kind

September 15th, 2011 the Central Missouri Community Forestry Council came to visit the site and see what we are doing with trail building and the plans for reforesting parts of the site. If you click here, you'll be taken to their Facebook page.

3M Urban Ecology Restoration Project gets visitors...the two legged kind

September 9th the wetlands project had a good visit from some of the participants of Job Point. These young men and women were on their way to do a clean sweep of the Hinkson Creek and stopped by to learn a little about the project and it's purpose. To see photos of the visit please click here

Power Shut Off at Twin Lakes Recreation Area

As part of the entry work, the electric lines are being put underground. To finish this work the power for the shelter and the restroom will be shut off temporarily. Columbia Water and Light anticipates this outrage to only last a short time while the lines are re-connected. The shut off will occur sometime between 8 am Wednesday Sept 14 and 4 pm Friday Sept 16. Please contact Parks and Recreation for more information.

Hindman Discovery Garden update.

Crews are working on placing boulders and spreading topsoil for future garden platings.

The walkway approaching the Living Wall area.

Notice the new limestone bench that has just been installed!

Park Construction crews are boring holes for the footings

for benches and for the overlook railing.


A cut limestone bench that has recently been installed.

Shepard tennis courts update

Christensen Construction has made great progress on the tennis courts at Shepard School.

The grading is complete, geo-fabric is placed and covered with 6" of gravel

prior to the asphalt surface.

The gravel is graded smooth, rolled and compacted, the slopes are checked for proper drainage, prior to asphalt paving.

The first layer of asphalt is complete. A second layer of finer asphalt goes down over this layer before fencing, net posts and paint coats.

The playground at Bethel Park is being re-built.

The playground at Bethel Park caught fire and has been out of use.

As of September 2, the old playground had been removed and the construction of a new playground piece had begun. A few missing parts mean that the playground will not be available until after the Labor Day weekend. The contractor is scheduled to return and complete the project during the week of September 6.

Construction of the new playground has begun!

New sign for Douglass Park

The new entrance sign at Douglass Park is completed. We still have some landscape work to do to clean up the site.

Shepard tennis courts

We have begun demolition of the existing tennis courts at Shepard School. This is a joint project between the City of Columbia Parks and Recreation and the Columbia Public Schools. The two approximately 20 year old tennis courts will be replaced with two new courts in the same location. The 4 basketball goals will be replaced as part of the project and lines will be added to these courts to allow for pickleball play as well.

The fence was removed on Thursday Aug. 25

and the asphalt is being removed today, Friday Aug. 26.

Keep checking back for more updates!

Urban Ecology Restoration Project

Progress on the wetlands cells has been good with the dry weather of the last month. But all good things must come to and end.



This image shows the first pool after a 1.5" rainfall, and only catching from a small percentage of the total 140 acre watershed.

The Schematic below shows what the anticipated wetlands will look like from a birds eye perspective. The first pool is the larger of the three to the right of the image.

Indian Hills Dog Park

There is a new Dog Park in Columbia! We have recently completed the construction of a new dog park in Indian Hills Park. It can be accessed from the Aztec Blvd. entrance to Indian Hills Park. It is about 1.5 acres and it has picnic tables to sit at while your dog runs through the variety of shady and sunny areas. This dog park has no pond or lake so if you are one who does not want your dog to get wet while playing, you might choose to come to this dog park. Please see the below link for how to get to Indian Hills Park in northeast Columbia.

Link to Indian Hills Dog Park.

Indian Hills Dog Park in a beautiful setting!

Hindman Discovery Garden at Stephens Lake Park

Rough grading and boulder work is underway at the Hindman Discovery Garden. Most of the large boulders have been placed, the overlook wall is completed, most of the Council Ring has been completed and work has begun on the living wall. Please see the photos below to view the progress.

View of the overlook from the Stephens Lake Trail.

The living wall under construction.

Boulders being set by the grading contractor.

The Council Ring grading is complete. We still have a lot of planting to do.

Posted by MS 8-18-2011.

Twin Lakes Recreation Area entry road

The entry road for Twin Lakes Recreation Area will be undergoing some much needed re-construction soon.

The road has been deteriorating for several years now and is in need of a major rebuild. The high water table, poor drainage, several years of above average rain, several years of very cold winters and the construction of the County House trail have all taken their toll.

However repairs and reconstruction will begin shortly.

The first work will be the undergrounding of the electric lines coming into the park. This work has already begun and will continue for the next several weeks. There will be short interuptions in electric service to the park during this time.

Funding for the road re-build should be available October 1st. At that time the real road work will begin. Be on the look out for heavy equipment, lane and/or road closures, rock and other construction materials.

Last bridge at Wilson Park nearing completion

The last, and most difficult bridge, in Wilson Park is nearing completion. After it's done site clean up and site restoration will really begin. Trail maintenance will be ongoing. Any planting will be held off for awhile until it cools off some. This will give the plants a better survival chance.

Please be very careful as you use the park. Equipment, construction material and waste material are still present in the park. Some of the trails have not been re-worked yet.

Fencing for the New Field at Atkins

The fencing work for the new field at Atkins Memorial Park has started. The backstop poles and most of the 16 foot line posts are in. If the weather holds the contractor may be be done in about two weeks with the rest of the fencing. Other work such as irrigation, lights infield construction will remain to be done.

The new field will be an on-going construction site for some time. Please keep away from all construction and materials for your safety.

Wilson Park bridges and trails

Work on the replacement of the bridges is moving along nicely. The weather has been cooperating and the crews are charging ahead.

One bridge is complete and another will be shortly. Abutment walls, steel and decking are in for the third. The last bridge will be demolished soon.

Once the bridges are complete the restoration of the area can start. The majority of that work will happen this fall though because of better planting conditions.

The repair and rehab of the trails is continuing although much of the major work is done.

Lange Park is completed

Lange Park has been completed. This neighborhood park has a playground, open playfield (good for pickup soccer games, kite flying or just running around on) and a non-reservable shelter (first come/first serve).

There's also a walking trail that when used with the sidewalk along Smiley Lane is 1/3 of mile.

Don't forget about the 400 meter track as well. As part of the agreement with Lange Middle School, Parks and Recreation built the track. During non school hours it's available for public use. The track is located behind the classroom trailer on the top of the hill.

Construction of New Field at Atkins

Construction of a new baseball field at Thomas E. "Country" Atkins Jr. Memorial Park will begin shortly. The field will be 350 feet to center and 315 feet to the right and left field corners. The fence will be constructed first with the other components to follow.