Citizens group puts New Kensington's Memorial Park on the map
It’s easier to find New Kensington’s Memorial Park now that a citizens group had a modern sign installed at the entrance.
Officials from the New Ken/Arnold Social in the Park Committee, a volunteer group that unofficially adopted Memorial Park and Roosevelt Park in Arnold, said some Memorial Park users felt it was difficult to find the park’s entrance off Route 56.
The park is plainly visible from Route 56, but its entrance is via an access road near the Jehovah’s Witness hall in an area where the park, itself, is blocked from view.
Until the committee stepped in, only a small, weathered street sign was in place to point people to the turn-off.
“This is a great park. It deserved better signs than the one old road sign it had,” committee spokesman Louis Downard said. “Now, it’s next to impossible to miss it.”
Last year, a performer scheduled at the concert in the park got lost, Downard said.
“I had to meet him at the road,” Downard said. “If you were born here, you know where the park is located. It’s a beautiful park.”
A large, blue-and-white reflective sign proudly pays homage to the park and all five branches of the military. It can be seen from either direction on Route 56.
“The military logos were added for a reason: It’s Memorial Park,” committee member Tom Dunn said.
The sign was fabricated and erected by #1 Signs of New Kensington.
The all-volunteer, nonprofit committee paid about $5,000 for the two-sided sign with room for custom four-line messages, he said.
The committee can change messages on the sign, and members don’t have to worry about an electric bill, Downard said.
“It’s like a PennDOT reflective sign,” Downard said.
The committee has “done a tremendous job over the years. It lets everybody know where the park is and what’s going on,” Mayor Tom Guzzo said. “And the sign put up by Vince Pelisari (#1 Signs) is tremendous,” he said. “Every year they do something new for the park.”
In the recent past, the committee upgraded the bandstand floor and helped with many other improvements at both parks.
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