Page last updated on September 29, 2025 at 2:46 pm
Parks and Recreation Project Updates
Last updated September 5, 2025.
An overview of projects happening at parks, trails, and facilities.
Asphalt Repair and Improvements
The Board of Park Commissioners at their Aug. 28, 2025 meeting approved a contract for $165,750 with Reed & Sons for asphalt repairs and improvements across multiple park properties, including services necessary for site preparation, milling and overlay, full-depth replacement, crack repair, root pruning, and site restoration. The scope includes:
- Repairs to the asphalt perimeter trail at Miller-Showers Park, scheduled to take place the first week of October, weather permitting.
- Paving the entry drive at the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve boathouse, scheduled for the week of Nov. 3-7, 2025
- Milling and re-asphalt the basketball courts, and repairing cracks on the tennis and pickleball courts, at RCA Community Park, scheduled to take place in September and October, 2025
- Creating an asphalt pedestrian path from West Third Street to the existing drive inside Rose Hill Cemetery, scheduled to take place in September and October, 2025
Powerline Trail
Parks and Recreation is continuing to develop plans to satisfy requirement for riparian plantings and erosion control in the planned .9-mile Powerline Trail between South Rogers Street at the entrance to Switchyard Park west to Weimer Road.
Rail Trail Rogers Street Crossing
Plans call to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists at the Rogers Street crossing of the gravel-surfact Bloomington Rail Trail. Scope of work includes:
- the installation of a pedestrian-activated Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB)
- a new streetlight for increased visibility
- 12-foot-wide paved trail sections on both sides of the road
- realigning the trail to create a 90-degree crossing at Rogers Street
The project also involves vegetation removal, site grading, stormwater inlet installation, and final site restoration to ensure long-term functionality and integration with the surrounding landscape existing along the Bloomington Rail Trail
Banneker Community Center Limestone Step Repairs
The Board of Park Commissioners at their Sept. 25, 2025 meeting approved a contract for $68,915 with LRT Restoration Technologies to replace the historic limestone steps to the front entrance of the Banneker Community Center. Banneker received a $30,000 Historic Preservation Fund grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology to help replace the steps at this historically significant building. The front entrance (off West 7th Street) will be closed during repairs; an alternate, wheelchair accessible entrance with power doors is available on the west side of the building on North Elm Street. Work is scheduled to begin the week of Nov. 10, 2025.