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Construction Begins on New Regional Parks in Salt Lake County

Taylor Hayes
Salt Lake County officials break ground on new regional park in Kearns, Utah.

Salt Lake County officials broke ground on a new regional park in Kearns this morning. The park is the result of a $47 million park’s bond voters approved in 2012.

Lodestone Park is one of three new regional parks in Salt Lake County funded by the 2012 bond. Right now it’s a 62-acre dirt lot, surrounded by housing developments. But in less than a year, it will be filled with green grass, a large playground, pavilion, pickle ball and tennis courts, athletic fields and walking trails. The Park will have giant truck tire donated by Kennecott Utah Copper and a basketball court donated by the Utah Jazz. Martin Jensen is director of Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation. He calls Lodestone a destination park.

“People will actually use the park as a place to go,” Jensen says. “They’ll drive across the valley to go to it. It’s on the scale of a Sugar House Park or a Liberty Park where it serves not only the residents that live immediately around it, but the residents in the region.”

Planning for the park began back in 2010. But it wasn’t until 2012 when voters approved the bond to fund its construction. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams says voter support was proof that residents appreciate parks and open space.

“When these parks are finished, residents and families and their friends will have a place to take a break away from work, from school, chores, videogames and television to get outdoors,” McAdams says.

Over the next month, construction will begin on three new regional parks total, including here in Kearns, Bluffdale and Draper.

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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