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Recreation

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Franklin City Parks Offer Wide Variety of Recreational Opportunities

Michael Morrison

Michael Morrison skates at Jim Warren Skate Park, which opened in 2006.

There’s a lot of competition at the Jim Warren Skate Plaza these days‚ but only one true measure of success.

“Like a friend I met at the park tells me every time we skate: The guy having the most fun wins‚” says J.P. Robinson‚ who has skated regularly at the plaza since it opened in September 2006.

Robinson‚ 33‚ is almost as passionate about the sport today as he was in his teens.

“What makes it even more fun are the guys my age and older who are out there cheering each other on‚” he says.

The plaza-style skate park cost almost $400‚000 to build‚ funded largely by the city of Franklin with some help from the state‚ says Lisa Clayton‚ director of Franklin’s Parks Department.

The plaza caters to two kinds of skaters: those known as “transition skaters‚” who enjoy the bowls and ramps at the park‚ and traditional skateboarders willing to tackle the stairs and railings.

“We have a lot of families using the park‚” Clayton says. “The parents will skate the bowl – they have no desire to jump ramps or stairs or go down rails – while their kids are doing the railing. We average around 100 skaters a day.”

Experienced and novice skateboarders were consulted throughout the project‚ she says.

“We talked to skaters from 5 to 45‚” Clayton says. “We had a dialogue with them that started with the concept‚ continued through the master plan and even on through construction. It was a huge help.”

The skate plaza is in Jim Warren Park‚ one of nine city parks in Franklin that offers a variety of recreational options to residents‚ including ball fields‚ playgrounds‚ picnic areas and more. The parks also play host to special events‚ such as concerts‚ movies and community celebrations.

Liberty Park opened in 2003 and is already being expanded. The 84-acre park‚ with three Little League baseball fields‚ is undergoing a second phase of development that should be completed by winter 2008. This phase will add a 500-seat amphitheater‚ hiking and mountain-biking trails‚ tennis courts‚ playgrounds and a nine-hole Frisbee golf course‚ Clayton says.

Yet another exciting new project is Eastern Flank Battlefield Park‚ Clayton says.

The park is on a former golf course adjacent to the historic Carnton Plan­tation and was the scene of fierce fighting during the Civil War. It is the nation’s oldest privately-held Confed­erate cemetery.

“A private group of citizens‚ known as Franklin’s Charge‚ raised $2.5 million and the city matched it‚ so we were able to purchase 110 acres‚” Clayton says.

A team of historical architects with experience at Gettysburg National Military Park and the Washington Monument is planning details of the new park‚ including interpretive stations that will highlight important aspects of the Battle of Franklin.

“The consultants have come up with a schematic design for re-creating the original roadbeds where the soldiers came through‚” Clayton says. “We’re just now in the planning process.

“Our main goal is for it to become a national park at some point‚ so everything we do is in line with the approved federal standards‚” she adds.

With two creeks on the property‚ plans also call for a 14-acre wetland to be set aside for environmental education.

“That will give us the best of both worlds for attracting school groups and tourists‚” she says.

Story by Renee Elder
Photo by Brian Mccord

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