CULLMAN – Stiefelmeyer Park on Eighth Avenue Northeast has received a new playground.
The new equipment was installed as part of Cullman City Parks & Recreation Department’s initiative to improve and upgrade playground equipment around the city’s local parks.
“A lot of these parks have been around since the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s,” said Waid Harbison, marketing, programs and events coordinator with CP&R. “Most of which have only received paint touch-ups and maintenance. We do a lot of big building projects around the city, but we wanted to do a project upgrading all the smaller community and neighborhood parks.”
Stiefelmeyer Park’s upgrade, while it fits into the goal of the current CP&R project, was funded by the Lions Club.
“The neighbors of the park really got the ball rolling on this upgrade,” Harbison said. “And then it was the Lions Club who donated all the funds for the upgrade. It really was a quick process, as opposed to what we normally have to do, as far as raising the funds and that sort of thing.”
Before the upgraded playground equipment was installed, the park was basically just a green space. Now, the playground with a large shade over it to keep the children playing on it from full sun-exposure, makes the space more like a park.
The new upgrade also meant a new set of swings, two of which are handicap-accessible.
“Back when I lived here, on Oak Street, half of this park was a pond,” said community member Lauren Farrar. “Now they’ve got this park that I love. It reminds me of the old times, and it’s not too huge.”
Although people fished in the pond, Farrar explained, it really got in the way of playing and was a bit of a safety hazard.
The rubberized mulch that was installed with the new playground was donated by First Baptist Church.
“The company that replaced (First Baptist Church’s) mulch called and said that they had some rubberized mulch if we wanted it,” Harbison said. “So that rubberized mulch was at First Baptist and they had theirs replaced, so they donated that replaced rubberized mulch to us.”
Stiefelmeyer Park is located at the corner of Eighth Avenue Northeast and Meadowview Drive Northeast.
