Long awaited renovations are about to begin at Columbia Local Park, located at 14900 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville. The park, which is adjacent to the Marilyn J. Praisner Community Recreation Center and the Marilyn J. Praisner Library, has consisted of a baseball field, two tennis courts, and picnic shelter receive very little use, compared to the southern portion of the park. In addition to the baseball field, tennis court, and picnic shelter in the northern portion of the park, three additional tennis courts have been taken out of service, leaving only a large, open paved area surrounded by a ten-foot-tall fence.
The 25.2-acre park is bisected by a densely forested stream valley, effectively splitting the park into two distinct spaces. With significant frontage along Old Columbia Pike, the three basketball courts, two baseball fields, and multi-user swing in the southern portion of the park are highly visible and heavily used. Beyond the forested stream valley, the northern portion of the park is relatively isolated, obscured from Old Columbia Pike by the nearby library and recreation center. As such, The purpose of this project is to find a permanent use for the former tennis courts and simultaneously activate the northern portion of the park to make it more inviting to future users and to discourage inappropriate activities from occurring. Because Columbia Local Park is within the Upper Paint Branch Special Protection Area, the amount of impervious surface within the park cannot be increased. One of the goals of the project is to remove and de-consolidate paved areas wherever possible.
