Parking Lot For Seniors, Disabled Residents Coming to Shakerag Park

The Johns Creek City Council on Monday voted to award a bid for the installation of a parking lot tailored to senior citizens and residents with disabilities at Shakerag Park.

The council unanimously awarded a bid to Kennedy Contracting, Inc. to do the work for $169,775. Johns Creek received 10 bids for the work, and Kennedy Contracting was the lowest qualified bidder, according to city documents.

This money is budgeted in the 2014 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for ADA accessibility in the parks. Additionally, city staff recommended an additional $16,000 be awarded to asphalt overlay of the trail, which will be obtained from the Public Works paving budget. That brings the total contract price to $185,775.

The parking lot will be reserved exclusively for seniors and people with disabilities. The 66-acre Shakerag Park at 10945 Rogers Circle is located on the northeastern tip of the city and is near Shakerag Elementary and River Trail Middle schools.

RELATED: “Significant Upgrades” Coming to Shakerag Park in Johns Creek

Shakerag Park will also see some significant changes this month when the city replaces the current playground with what it’s new, “state of the art” play equipment.

Additional future improvements include a fishing pier, sidewalks, a renovated baseball field, a wildlife observation deck and new restrooms, the city said last week.

All of the improvements, set to be constructed over the next several months, will accommodate people with disabilities.

The new playground, located by the lake, will have separate equipment for younger kids and older kids. The equipment includes slides, things to climb on, swing on, balance on, and play on. The equipment will be made of steel and coated with weather-resistant, heat-resistant plastic.

Johns Creek also is installing a shade structure over the play equipment. For safety, the ground will be covered with specially engineered wood fibers to cushion falls. Construction could take four to six weeks.

To accommodate the traffic to the new parking lot, the one-lane road from the existing parking lot will be widened to two lanes. A 600-foot sidewalk will be added from Shakerag Elementary to the park.