As spring comes to a head, Dane County Parks has made updates and improvements to local parks to make them more suitable for students and the community.
Dane County Parks Advisor Joleen Stinson said in a press release on March 13 that despite the warm temperatures, some parks will remain closed for the transition from winter to spring to prevent damage to trails.
“Visitor use of the county parks, trails and natural resource areas are at an all-time high, but the spring thaw period combined with high use can have long-term impacts, especially on grassy or limestone hiking trails,” Stinson said.
Stinton said the spring rain and drying winds will help firm the ground, at which point the parks will be reopened.
Improvements made to local parks
During the park’s offseason, three parks had construction projects that will be fully operational starting this spring.
The biggest project, costing $3.5 million, took place in Door Creek park. This project includes a new shelter with built in fireplaces and kitchens, as well as new basketball and futsal courts.
Door Creek’s shelter will be open year-round and has no official start date.
Tenney Park is building a replacement for the current beach shelter to be opened for the spring season.
In 2021, an application was processed to begin the replacement process for the existing shelter, citing safety and accessibility concerns.
“The existing shelter is an aged facility with inadequate accessibility, inadequate plumbing fixtures and lack of a covered seating area,” the letter said. “The popular beach destination lacks amenities like bike racks, bottle fillers and showers.”
The new shelter addresses these concerns and includes solar paneling to support Dane County’s clean beaches initiative.
A similar structure is being built for Country Grove Park on Madison’s West Side, but the shelter may not be finished in time for the opening of the park.
As of this month, over 400 requests for shelters across Madison parks have already been processed, with around 100 of the requests accepted, according to city documents.
Parking fee pilot project paused for 2025
In November, the Common Council approved a proposal to begin charging a parking fee for some local parks for special events.
The program, which was intended to start summer of 2025, would’ve earned the city around $24,000 annually.
However, the project was canceled last month due to concerns from other city officials about the logistics of implementing such a project.
The project will likely be reintroduced to the Common Council in the fall.
Vanessa Gavilan is the city news editor for The Daily Cardinal.
