CEDAR CITY — Officials and civic leaders recently broke ground on long-awaited improvements to Cedar City’s Canyon Park.
The project, a collaborative effort between Cedar City Rotary Club and Cedar City Corporation, is one of several ways Cedar City Rotary Club is celebrating its 100-year anniversary.
“After six years of planning, the COVID years, a building boom and two long winters, fundraising, and RAP Tax and Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation funding requests, work has commenced on exciting all-abilities upgrades to Cedar City’s Canyon Park west side,” Rotary Club officials stated in a recent news release.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place during the Rotary Club weekly meeting on April 23. Joining the club members were several elected officials, including Cedar City Mayor Garth Green, Cedar City Council members Robert Cox and Scott Phillips and Iron County commissioners Paul Cozzens and Marilyn Wood. Also in attendance were Ken Nielsen and Anthony Pearson of Cedar City Parks Department and Maria Twitchell of Visit Cedar City/Brian Head Tourism Bureau.
According to the news release, the park upgrades will include a playground, accessible water play, and equipment and signage designed to educate children about Iron County’s history and heritage of water use. Although a small portion of grass will be removed, the long-standing cottonwood trees will remain, addressing a concern that was brought up during the planning phases.
In addition, the Rotary Club has received a grant from Trees Utah to plant additional trees in this park and others.
“We have been working on this project for multiple years in order to plan effectively and to raise enough money to adequately fund it,” said Sue Longson, Cedar City Rotarian and co-chair of the Canyon Park committee.
“The new additions will allow children of all abilities to enjoy the water play Canyon Park is known for, and will provide shade and other safety and comfort features that don’t currently exist there,” Longson added.
Paul Monroe, Cedar City Rotarian and general manager of the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, said, “We’ve been asked about building a new park in other parts of the county and piping water in, which would be incredible but also very expensive and water intrusive. By adding these new features to Canyon Park, we are able to get the biggest return on investment and add to an already amazing local park.”
To see a map of the proposed improvements, click here.
According to the release, the Rotary Club organization brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.
They connect 1.2 million members from more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Together, they work to promote peace, fight disease, and provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene. They also work to support education and grow local economies. For more information on becoming a member of the Cedar City Rotary Club, email Christy Hugh at [email protected].
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