The mouth of Provo Canyon may become a recreational wonderland if Orem's plans for a park there come to fruition.
The city's Recreation Advisory Commission has come up with a conceptual plan for a 44-acre park on city-owned and leased property north of the Murdock Diversion Dam a couple of miles up Provo Canyon. The city park would be on the north side of the Provo River, across from a park being developed by the Utah Department of Transportation.A bridge spanning the river would provide access to most of the park.
"Orem is a real family community . . . so most of our ideas are things families could do together up the canyon," commission chairwoman Candy Belliston told the Deseret News. The commission worked on the proposal over the past two years.
The park would include a day picnic area, a nature interpretive trail, a 5-mile mountain bike trail system, a fitness/
jogging area, a shallow pond for ice skating in the winter, three pavilions, horseshoe pits, a volleyball court, children's play area, an overnight campground and possibly an amphitheater.
The Provo Jordan River bike trail passes along the south boundary of the park. And the city wants to try to tie the Great Western Trail system through the park.
"I think it's a neat concept," recreation director Jerry Ortiz told the Deseret News. "It provides day kinds of activities as well as overnight camping. It would be a nice amenity for the city and for the residents."
The council unanimously approved the concept Tuesday night, allowing the recreation department to work out more detailed plans for the park.
The public works department will now do engineering drawings and determine a cost estimate for construction of the park, Ortiz said. The proposal will also be scaled to fit the site.
"Once that is done, it will be a matter of determining funding for it," he said.
Ortiz hopes work on the park could be under way in three to five years - perhaps as many as 10.
"We would have to fold that (the park) into the priorities of the city and see where it might come out," Ortiz said.