Parks Improvement Program

Investing in Parks

Since 2002, the Town of Babylon has embarked on an unprecedented investment in its parks system, creating vibrant and innovative public spaces for children and families. The town also considers park improvements as economic development investments. People want to live in communities with beautiful parks and great public spaces. Creating parks that enhance the quality of life of the residents in the community will help sustain and lift property values into the future. The Town of Babylon was the first municipality on Long Island to invest in state-of-the-art turf playing fields.

Improvements

Phelps Lane pool complex was redeveloped with a new community center, giant slides, and a spray park. The town also completed a waterfront revitalization project at Venetian Shores Beach on the Great South Bay, building a new beach pavilion and an innovative spray park that has turned a little-used facility into a major attraction for the community. A new waterfront revitalization project is underway at Tanner Park in Copiague, where a 12-foot-wide promenade across 700 feet of shoreline has already been installed. A new beach pavilion and spray park are scheduled to open this summer. Two new youth centers have also been built in West Babylon and North Babylon.

Principles of the Process

The town has also revised the process for playground development, establishing a set of principles for the design and installation of each new play area in its 37 parks. Those principles, which must be addressed in the design process, are as follows:

• Providing handicapped accessibility
• Encouraging fitness
• Sparking creativity or imagination
• Providing play areas for both toddlers and older kids
• Installing new rubber surfacing that is safer and easier to maintain
• Incorporating landscape design elements