By Cassie Goff | [email protected]

This year, the Cottonwood Heights Parks, Trails, and Open Space (PTOS) Committee is excited to bring pollinator gardens and hammock stations to city parks. PTOS Chair Jennifer Shah and Secretary Greg Reid outlined these, and many other PTOS Committee plans for 2022, on Feb. 1. In addition, they provided a 2021 recap for the new city councilmembers.  

The PTOS Committee hopes to install pollinator gardens in many parks throughout the city, in attempts to bring more liveliness to the city and to help save the bees. First on the list will be Mountview Park (1651 Fort Union Blvd.). In addition, hammock stations will be installed at Golden Hills Park (8303 Wasatch Blvd.).

“Hammocks can cause damage to trees. We will be providing hammocking stations so people can still engage in the activity without causing damage to our trees,” Shah said.

Through a newly established program, the PTOS Committee will help install benches throughout Ferguson Park (7721 Timberline Dr.). Residents can make donations toward these benches to have their name or commemorative plaque incorporated within the park.

“The ‘Leave Your Mark on Ferguson Park’ can be accessed through the city’s website,” Shah said.

Since the PTOS Committee is dedicated to ensuring city parks remain beautifully maintained for city residents, they are not only focused on the three parks listed above, but all city parks.

“We support preservation of Dover Hills Park,” Shah said.

Sidewalk extensions around Butler Park have been proposed and supported by the PTOS committee as well. The PTOS hopes the emphasis on trail connectivity will extend to creating and maintaining bike safety along Bengal Boulevard.

While their focus has been trails as of late with connections for the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (with a surplus budget), they intend to focus on paved walking routes and bike lanes as well.

In addition to the projects listed above, the PTOS Committee will continue their ongoing work on: the alignment and connection of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail; implementing the access plan of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail; improving the Ferguson Trailhead; redeveloping Antczak Park; updating their master plan; developing a new city ordinance focusing on riparian protection; and designing and installing various wayfinding signage.

In a collaboration with the Historic Committee and the Cottonwood Heights GIS Team, a handful of online walking tours were previously published on the city’s website. The PTOS Committee plans to develop additional walking trails and bring more traffic to those already established walking tours this summer.

Additionally, the PTOS Committee plans to host more events during 2022. During the summer of 2021, the PTOS Committee held an open house for Ferguson Park and hosted a naturalist talk during Butlerville Days. They hope to harness the success from last year’s naturalist talk to host even more this upcoming year.

Last year, PTOS Committee members contributed to Pack It Out events and 9/11 Day of Service events. They hope to continue contributing to such events throughout 2022. They also hope to establish a Volunteer Parks & Trails Stewards program in the future.

The PTOS Committee has goals that help guide all of their labor and activities: Create awareness of existing parks, trails, and open space opportunities; create awareness of new parks, trails, and open space opportunities; create programs for specific interests to introduce people to existing and new amenities and to foster greater community involvement; enhance the interconnectivity of trails with other communities; preserve natural open space and improve the ecological quality of parks; preserve and enhance the character, livability and safety of the city through enhanced parks, trails and open space; improve accessibility and safety; identify unmet/underutilized parks, trails and open space needs; and enhance partnerships with other local and regional agencies managing parks, trails and open space.

PTOS Committee members include: Larry Alserda, Ronna Cohen, Erin Davis, Matt Dominessey, Melissa Fields, Jennifer Shah, Vice-Chair Sarah Ricketts, Greg Hilbig, Bruce Jorgensen, Secretary-Elect Paula McFarland, Vice-Chair-Elect Mike Menssen, Chris Owens, and Secretary Greg Reid.

To learn more about the PTOS Committee, visit their page on the Cottonwood Heights City website, by going to the “Your Government” tab, navigating to the “Boards and Committees” section and selecting “Parks, Trails, and Open Space Committee.”