Cookeville’s Cane Creek Park will close next week to accommodate an extensive repaving project covering the main park road and all associated parking lots.
Director of Leisure Services Chad McDonald said the project addresses damage caused by heavy machinery and trucks used during the recent expansion. McDonald said the department had already planned to repave the aging infrastructure but delayed the work until the heavy equipment finished its tasks at the site.
“We struggled with the decision to completely close the park,” McDonald said, “But we felt that to keep the workers safe and pedestrians and the public safe, it’s just not the best idea to have them in the same area at the same time.”
McDonald said the paving company intends to work as quickly as possible to potentially reopen the gates early. While the main fenced-in area and the dog park will be inaccessible, peripheral facilities including the splash pad, playground, and pickleball courts will remain open.
McDonald said families can also utilize other local spots such as West End Park and Franklin Avenue Park during the three-day maintenance window.
The project also includes widening specific sections of the road to accommodate larger modern vehicles. McDonald said that when trucks with long beds park in existing spaces, other drivers are often forced to drive into the grass to pass them, causing further deterioration.
“Well, over the years, we’ve found that vehicles are getting much larger,” McDonald said. “We have trucks coming in that have longer beds on them. So when they’re parking in our parking spaces along the road, other cars are having to go around those, and they’re having to get off the road and into the grass. And it’s creating several problems in several places around the park. So we’re sort of widening the road in those areas to help with that issue especially.”
McDonald said the project will result in a smoother driving surface and more visible parking lines throughout the facility. McDonald said the department decided to repave the entire area at once rather than attempting smaller, piecemeal repairs.
“Initially, it will not be striped, but we’re going to get the whole park striped as well for parking spaces, so those will be more visible,” McDonald said. “Those had faded over time, and you couldn’t tell where the parking spaces were. So it will be a great improvement.”
McDonald said the department will reopen the park immediately if the paving company completes the work ahead of the Wednesday deadline.
