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Caney Creek completed
New park first of four to open this month
Caney WEB 1
Anton Vladimirov, right, and friend Claire Avel play in an “archaeological dig site” play area Friday during the grand opening of Caney Creek Preserve. Three other new recreational facilities will open this week. - photo by Autumn Vetter
Leslie Avel said her daughters and their friends had been excitedly awaiting the opening of Caney Creek Preserve next to their neighborhood.At the ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, the four children stopped playing to watch the official opening of the south Forsyth green space park.“Now, they want to go to the three others next week,” Avel said of three more county green space parks set to open this month.Alisa Vladimirova, a friend of Avel’s daughters, said she was sure that Caney Creek would be the best of the four.“They have a lot of fun things to do, like digging in sand and climbing on nets,” she said.The 63-acre park at 2755 Caney Road includes several unique playground features, a natural amphitheater, two pavilions, dog park and 1.2 miles of walking trails.Commissioner Brain Tam, the district’s representative, welcomed the opening of the park, which he said is about the community.“The community wanted this land, the community helped decide how it would be developed, and the community will enjoy it,” Tam said.He added that in a few hours, the Brookwood Farmer’s Market would hold its first event of the summer, just inside the newly opened gates.In a few years, Tam said sidewalks approved under the 1-cent sales tax program will run alongside the roads by the park to improve connectivity.He thanked Forsyth County for its dedication to creating recreation opportunities.“Just one look around you ought to convince you of that,” Tam said.Caney Creek is the first of four southern county green space parks to open in a week.It will be joined by Haw Creek Park and Chattahoochee Pointe, which will debut Thursday and Old Atlanta Park, which will open June 29.Together, the sites total about 282 acres and were purchased through the county’s $100 million parks, recreation and green space bond, which voters approved in 2008.Jim Boff, chairman of the county commission, said the bond made the purchase of the property possible and contributed some funding towards its development.Money from the current 1-cent sales tax revenue and impact fees, which are charged to developers, also funded the park’s development, Boff said.“What a great park this is,” he said. “What a wonderful addition it will be to our parks and recreation system.”