MACQUARIE Lions have been busy upgrading the park that bears their name in a bid to make the area more family friendly.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A fence on the northern side has been erected while wheelchair-accessible park seating has been constructed close to the car park.
Club president Bob Wright and secretary Ken McMahon were joined by Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson and Tim Houghton to celebrate their completion.
Mr McMahon said the improvements had been in the works for some time but delayed by wet weather.
“With the fence, at first it was meant to be around the playground, we were just about to go ahead with that and the flood came,” he said.
Negotiations with Dubbo City Council then led to placing it along the park’s boundary before starting on the path and bench.
“The fence will enable the Farmers Markets to rotate the area, expanding it,” Mr McMahon said.
A donation from Macquarie Valley Food and Wine saw power lines extended to that end of the park as further assistance.
Mr Houghton said the concrete path, which extended to the barbecue area, would make family outings easier.
“This sort of thing does get overlooked by councils but it’s great that there has been work on this community venture,” he said.
The bench, specifically designed to allow room for a wheelchair, cost about $2200.
“This is rare for Dubbo, and what I appreciate is that the community here doesn’t wait for council funds, they get in and do stuff,” Cr Dickerson said.
“It’s taken a while to get together with the process, but now it’s a friendly area,” Mr Wright said.
“We’d like to give our thanks to those who helped out.”
There are eventual plans for two more seating areas to be created around Macquarie Lions Park.