The Daily Citizen
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Each day people from across Dalton and Whitfield County come to Lakeshore Park to play tennis, let their dogs roam in the dog park and tend their plots in the community garden.
But how many of them make it down to the south end of the park?
Sure, some families and churches hold picnics at the big pavilion. But how many come just to sit by the lake or walk through the nearby wetlands?
Let’s face it. That part of Laksehore Park seems just a little drab. The banks of the lake have eroded, and the wetlands don’t have anything to draw attention to them.
But a plan developed by the University of Georgia’s Archway Partnership could help refurbish the south end of Lakeshore Park and add more amenities throughout the park.
That plan calls for stabilizing and replanting the banks of the creek and the lake shore, and planting trees in the wetlands. It also calls for building four platforms overlooking the lake, for fishing and for viewing.
The plan also calls for creating a small “outdoor classroom” complete with markers with information about the various plants and animals found in the park. Dalton State College biology professor John Lugthart says the college and other local schools already use the park for classes and the sort of improvements contained in the Archway plan would make it even more attractive to students and teachers.
The plan also calls for building six new tennis courts, a trail around the park and a trail linking it to Brookwood Elementary School.
Dalton officials asked the Archway Partnership to come up with a plan for Lakeshore after being approached by a group of local residents including Lugthart. He says the lake and wetlands make Lakehore unique and, properly treated, could be a real attraction.
“There aren’t a lot of parks, at least in Whitfield County and Dalton, that have a lake, have wetlands and have a stream running through them,” he said.
City officials stress that the plans are still preliminary, and they haven’t come up with any costs estimates. But, with the city budget tight, they say they’ll be looking for grants to do any work at Lakeshore Park.
The city does need to be careful with taxpayer dollars, and there’s no reason all of the work planned there needs to be done at once. But the Archway plan could not only help Lakeshore better meet the needs of Dalton residents, it could go along way to improving the looks of the area and revitalizing that part of the city.
