Avondale Estates’ commission has recently approved cleaning out the city’s three “pocket parks” of invasive and predatory plants along with accumulated trash. But there are no current plans of developing the three green-space areas — the largest is three acres — into formal parks with playground equipment.
The parks date to the city’s 1920s origins, but in the decades since have been surrounded by homes, mostly sealed off and ignored. In 2010 the city’s board determined it wasn’t pragmatic turning them into active parks.
“We have a need for green space,” said Commissioner Terry Giager at a recent work session. “But you can’t see [the pocket parks] from the street and there’s no path into and out of them. Safety and security is the main issue — if we open them up, how do we keep people from lurking about?”
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