Ray Park is a 1.89 acre passive recreational park located at the intersection of Spring Street and Spring Circle, a couple of blocks west of Historic Courthouse Square in downtown Newnan. The recently renovated park was completely overhauled and re-designed and constructed as a neighborhood park for play, exercise, and relaxation for the citizens of Newnan.
The new park features a large oval shaped walked path that meanders through the recreational area. A sizeable open lawn area lies within the boundaries walking trails, which also includes a pedestrian bridge that traverses an existing small stream. Three covered pavilions, accessorized with picnic tables, are strategically positioned along the exterior of the walkways, as well as a wooden arbor located at the entrance to the park. A separate playground, specifically designed for small children, is featured, as well as a stone seating wall that shadows the play area. Several stone seating walls provide additional seating and vantage points and are also used to tie the park together with extensive landscaping that will provide color and interest throughout the year.
As the City has done on several other recent recreational projects, the project also included another permeable paving parking lot. The environmentally friendly permeable paving system was specifically chosen in this particular situation to eliminate a detention pond, to reduce stormwater runoff, to reduce pollutants from the runoff, and to again provide a solid and practical demonstration project to encourage further use. This recreational renovation project was part of the City’s overall Parks and Recreation Master Plan and was 100% funded through the City’s SPLOST 2007. Ray Park was completed in October of 2014.