Vice Mayor Debra Stark, who represents Council District 3, addressed attendees at the June 1 ribbon cutting for the newest city of Phoenix WalkPHX path at Cave Creek Park – Cactus’ (photo by Kathryn M. Miller).
Residents in the Shaw Butte neighborhood came out by the dozens Saturday, June 1 to celebrate their park and the newest city of Phoenix WalkPHX path at Cave Creek Park – Cactus, 2400 W. Cactus Road.
Cave Creek Park is made up of six segments – Cholla, Cactus, Larkspur, Sweetwater and Thunderbird – built along Cave Creek Wash beginning just north of Peoria Avenue and ending at Thunderbird Road. The Cactus portion of the park boasts a range of amenities that now includes a 1.33–mile walking path that connects three of the parks – it is the city’s 54th WalkPHX path (www.phoenix.gov/parks/fitphx/walkphx).
Hosted by the Shaw Butte Neighborhood Alliance, families gathered at the park activation event and joined in art, sport and game activities as well as enjoyed a bounce house, water slide, and goodies from Mama T’s food truck. Attendees also included representatives from various city departments and community leaders, as well as Vice Mayor Debra Stark, who participated in the official ribbon cutting, and spoke about the importance of not only adding amenities but finding ways to draw neighbors together at the parks.
“Probably the most important part of activating our parks is safety,” Stark told us. “You know, putting on my ‘mom’ hat – the more people in the park, the more comfortable you feel, and the more things that we can put in our parks to attract both kids and adults… we’re trying to do that, so our parks are activated.
“Some of our parks are more passive in nature – they just don’t get used. You can go out and walk or kick a soccer ball around, but you’ve really got to have activities going on, and you’ve got to have basketball courts, and playgrounds, and ball fields.”
Stark added, “For a long time, we’ve heard criticism about the wash areas of these parks, and I think activating it will help. You’ve got to do something, so we opened up some grant money to help neighborhoods activate parks and asked, ‘What would you like to see in your park?’ and that’s what happened here, and that’s why we are here to celebrate.”
The Shaw Butte Neighborhood Alliance, whose boundaries run from Cave Creek Park east to 19th Avenue and from Cactus Road north to the Dahlia Drive wash channel, meets on the third Tuesday of each month. To connect with them, visit www.shawbuttephx.org or follow them on social media.
