Thirst For a Future Park among People of Cordata

Cordata: It was 2008 when city council approved Cordata Park master plan, which was designed for development of first Park in the neighborhood, but till date Cordatans are waiting for completion of the project.

“We wish our kids can have better and safer place for having fun and to play games” said Mr and Mrs Andrew who were looking after their 3 kids in small grassy area with some swings at the corner of Westerly road. “It is duty of city council to provide the basic facilities such as Parks in Cordata neighborhood” they added.

According to Bellingham City official website, 20 acres of the land located on the northwest of the neighborhood will be utilized for the construction of the park. 7 acres of the park will be used for recreational activities where as rest of it will provide all the basic facilities such as playing area for children, community gathering place for adults, benches for picnic, restroom and a track for cyclist and pedestrians.

 It is matter of time that population of Cordata neighborhood has hit the numbers of 6,000 so having only one Park will not meet the requirement. “I think one is not enough, people of Cordata needs small parks and tracks for every two or three streets” said 26 year old Jorsha studying at Whatcom Community College.

Parks and recreation centers are good for the health of mankind as they keep you fit and away from doctors. It is the best place where you can stretch your muscles and inhale some fresh air.

But there some denigrators like Cash Crow who have no importance for a Park in the neighborhood. He said Cordata do not need any special place for community gathering as people living here have well built sense of community.

According to neighborhood plan site the first phase of development ended in November 2010. Phase one was consist of 3,000 foot walking trail through the park from Horton road to Meadowbrook court.

Major part of the land used for the park is wetland making it hard and expensive for the developers to complete the project without interfering with the natural environment.  This is the main cause that project is going on unacceptable speed. “Cordata neighborhood has nothing when it came into existence, but we are the people who care alot” said Chris 37 year old carpenter, resident of Cordata.

Many people with the help of neighborhood association have raised this issue several times to the office of City Council but no action has been taken yet. Some residents of the neighborhood have different thoughts, they belief that such kind of mega projects always take some time and for that of this park, it is moving quickly.

Residents of Cordata believe that it is one of the desirable places to live in Belingham with much easier and peaceful environment. As soon as this project will be completed people of Cordata can more enjoy the variety of recreational and community facilities within the premises of neighborhood and they can compare themselves with the most lavish neighborhoods in the state.