Parkdale Park in Hayesville will soon be upgraded with better parking, picnic tables, barbecues, lighting and a new playground thanks to a state grant.
The work is expected to be complete by the summer, transforming what’s largely been an open 6-acre green space at 4650 Hayesville Dr. N.E. into a space for children to play and residents to gather.
The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday voted to approve a grant agreement with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to pay for the improvements. Under the agreement, the state will contribute $356,000, and the county will match that amount using Covid relief funding, bringing the total cost to about $712,000.
Commissioners Kevin Cameron and Danielle Bethell voted to approve the grant. Commissioner Colm Willis was absent.
The development will bring green space and a playground to an area of northeast Salem that has few such amenities. Hayesville sits outside Salem city limits.
The county has owned the park since 1962.
The goal of the project is to provide more space for children to play and increase access to green spaces, the county’s website showed. The project will also include educational activities for kids to learn about wetlands and nature.
Work is expected to begin in late spring.
Dennis Mansfield, the deputy public works director for Marion County, said the new park amenities should be up and running by the summertime with no traffic impacts during installations.
“It is great that the first action item of the year is to bring in some money for parks, which is awesome,” Mansfield said. A map of the park and more information on the project can be found online here.
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
