As part of a larger effort to create more outdoor recreation space in Dona Ana County, plans have been unveiled to develop a park along the west bank of the Rio Grande.
According to those plans, the park will include a playground, fire pit, picnic shelter, boardwalk with benches, and restrooms, among other features.
The oblong-shaped park will be partially bordered by the popular Shalem Colony Trail, with an emphasis on open space: turf lawn, an adventure and nature play space, and access to the river.
Project designer for the park is the Phoenix-based engineering and design firm Wilson & Company.
The land for the park is currently owned by the International Boundary Commission. County officials hope to enter into a lease agreement with that commission but must first submit design plans to that same body.
The project has been the subject of at least one public input meeting earlier this winter, with another scheduled for the first week of May.
There are well over two dozen parks of varying sizes in Dona Ana County, serving a population of around 215,000 residents. According to the website Countyoffice.org, Dona Ana is ranked third out of 33 counties in New Mexico for the number of parks it has per capita.
Earlier this spring, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham approved $100,000 in capital outlay funding for improvements to the county’s Butterfield Park, along with another $200,000 to upgrade the East Mesa Park.
By Garry Boulard
