The city of Cumming is moving forward with plans to renovate and improve Cumming City Park, having last month given approval to preliminary plans for the project.

We’re glad to see the park on the drawing board for improvement.

For decades, local residents, many from beyond the city limits of Cumming, have enjoyed recreational opportunities at City Park on Pilgrim Mill Road. With some sprucing up, we expect that will continue to be the case for decades to come.

Looking around at the modern parks and recreational facilities that dot the local landscape today, it’s sometimes hard to remember that most are the result of fairly recent construction and development.

The current city park in Cumming is the grandfather of modern parks in the area.

Back before neighborhood subdivisions offered swimming pools of their own, the pool at City Park was a draw for residents from throughout the county, with many a youngster having learned to swim in the facility.

Removing the old swimming pool and replacing it with a multipurpose building that can fulfil many needs is among the plans for the renovation project.

A renovated city park will be just one more recreational feature of which the city can boast. It will join the aquatic center, playhouse, fairgrounds, and city hall as evidence of an ongoing renaissance in Cumming, with the courthouse and jail now under construction soon to be added to the downtown picture.

Those who have been in the area for a while may remember that 50 years or so ago the park was little more than the pool and a lackluster ball field with a couple of rickety bleachers.

The metamorphosis through the years has been amazing, and we expect the next phase for City Park will be just as remarkable.