BROWARD COUNTY COMMISSION
NEWS RELEASE
Parks and Recreation Division ▪ 950 N.W. 38th St., Oakland Park, FL 33309
Phone: 954-357-8100 ▪ Fax: 954-561-5359 ▪ www.broward.org/parks
For Immediate Release
Date: October 20, 2009 Phone: 954-357-8115
From: Michael Mills E-mail: mmills@broward.org
Vista View Park To Celebrate Its Expansion
WHAT: The public is invited to attend the Reopening Ceremony for the Vista View Park Expansion, to be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 13. To R.S.V.P., call 954-357-8114. Here is some information on the park and its background.
By the time Vista View Park opened to the public on July 12, 2003, the site had already served as the county’s landfill in Davie for more than two decades (1964-1987), culminating in a cleanup overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that led to the site’s removal from the agency’s National Priorities List in 2006. (The EPA continues to monitor the site to ensure that it remains safe for public access.) The final transformation into a park was made possible with initial funding from the Broward County Office of Integrated Waste Management, supplemented by money from the 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond Referendum.
Since its 2003 opening, the park has offered walking and equestrian trails; hills for walking, running, and biking; two small picnic shelters (capacity 20-40); a fishing pier (catch-and-release encouraged); and lots of open space. The park’s roughly 65-foot twin hills are among the highest elevations in Broward County, with views of Port Everglades and downtown Fort Lauderdale to the east and the Everglades to the west. At the northwest corner of the site there is an oak hardwood hammock that is part of the ridge system once used by Native Americans for campsites when the surrounding area was still part of the Everglades.
In 2002, approximately 60 additional acres were acquired with $12.8 million, half of which came from a Florida Communities Trust grant and the other half from the 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond program. The park embarked on a nearly $7.2 million expansion. Included in the new amenities are six picnic shelters (two large, two medium, and two small, with capacities of 20-40, 41-60, and 61-90, respectively); two restroom facilities; two basketball courts; a second fishing pier; a paved fitness trail with 12 exercise stations; an additional multipurpose trail; and a park office. There are also two new playgrounds, the larger of which, Caitlyn’s Corral, is accessible to children of all levels of ability; it is named for Caitlyn Munson, who died of spinal muscular atrophy in 2002 at the age of 9 months. Additional equestrian amenities include a gate off Orange Drive that provides access to trailer parking for large group trail rides and other special events; and a corral with a universal-access mounting block.
Like other regional parks, the newly revamped park will begin charging the Parks and Recreation Division’s regular weekend and holiday gate entrance fee of $1.50 per person (children 5 and under free).
WHERE: Vista View Park
4001 S.W. 142nd Ave., Davie
954-327-8797 (before November 13)
954-357-8898 (after November 13)
WHEN: Friday, November 13
10 a.m.
WHO: The public.
HOW: R.S.V.P. before Monday, November 9 by calling 954-357-8114.
For further information on Vista View Park, call Long Key Natural Area and Nature Center at 954-327-8797.
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Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations in order to participate in County programs, services, and activities must contact the Special Populations Section at 954-357-8170 or TTY 954-537-2844 at least ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled meeting or event to request an accommodation.
