By Stacy Walenter
As the snow melts and people head outdoors, Troy citizens may notice several new upgrades and improvements in and around Roosevelt Park.
The tube slide at the park’s playground has sported a large hole in the top for several years. The old slide has been removed and city crew workers have installed a new slide.
A second swing set, which will be able to accommodate older children and adults, will join the children’s swing set that is already in place. The new swings have already been assembled in the city shop and should be added to the playground this week.
Roosevelt Park’s faded sign has also been replaced with a new sign crafted by local contractor Steven Simonson. The sign project began last year and was completed with the April third installation. Crews will now prune back the shrubs to make the sign more visible.
Two barbeques and preparation tables will also be added to the new pavillion near the fishing pond.
These four park improvements and upgrades were made possible by a local couple who donate to the city’s improvement and beautification efforts. Mayor Dallas Carr said the city can propose ideas and the anonymous donors approve or deny the requests.
Park upgrades will continue with the addition of a handicapped-accessible floating dock at the park’s fish pond. The moving dock was made possible by a $13,379 grant from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks written by Troy councilwoman Shawna Kelsey. The city had to match 30% of the grant.
The city’s match will include building benches near the new dock and the labor involved. The Troy High School’s Outdoor Club, with the assistance of game warden Taylor Rockafellow, will design kiosks, which will be positioned at the front of the park and also at the fish pond. The kiosks will display park rules and information.
On Wednesday, Kelsey will join Anthony South, Yaak Valley Forest Council Headwaters Crew Leader, and children from W.F. Morrison Elementary’s After School Program at the pond to plant 70-80 willow stakes.
The children will plant the stakes in the bank so that the bottom of the cutting will have steady access to the groundwater that seeps into the shoreline.
“Depending on the survival rate of the willows, they will create more shelter and shade for improved fish and waterfowl habitat,” Kelsey said via email on April 6.
Just down the road from the park, on the corner of Third Street and Riverside Avenue, city crews installed a new turn sign and yield sign.
Carr said that the intersection has been an area of concern for several years.
Two sides of the intersection have stop signs, but the curve from Third Street onto Riverside Avenue has no signs. The corner also has several large potholes, which drivers often try to avoid by using the opposite lane of traffic.
“We’d like to get people back into the appropriate traffic lanes and pay attention,” Carr said during an interview on April 5. “We don’t want a four way stop if we can help it.”
Carr suspects the corner is susceptible to potholes because of traffic behavior and the wearing of chip coating. He hopes to pave the corner properly help make the intersection safer.
By Stacy Walenter