GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A neglected park is getting attention from Greensboro city leaders once again.
This time, the city could start planning to improve Bingham Park.
The community that surrounds the park wants all the waste that’s underneath the ground to be removed and the park to be restored. The park used to be a place families and kids could enjoy, but it remained abandoned for several years.
In 2015, environmental testing revealed contamination underneath the ground.
“We’re walking on trash. This is garbage,” said resident Cheryl Johnson.
The park used to be a landfill with an incinerator to burn garbage.
“It’s very scary because I live 500 feet away … It’s very concerning that you want … a clean space for children to come to play and to run,” Johnson said.
Johnson doesn’t take her kids to the park because over the years, the park has shown signs of sinking, cracking and contamination.
“There are large boulders on both sides … When you see large boulders, that means do not enter. We never ventured out to the park for something for them to do,” Johnson said.
The city of Greensboro received $11 million to improve the park and other downtown Greensboro areas, but there are no plans yet on how that money is going to be used.
“I think that’s awesome. We know that all of that can’t be spent here right now. This is going to take a while. This is not tomorrow,” Johnson said.
“I feel totally elated by the fact that the city has gotten money to use in being a park … It is very important that we continue our collaboration with the … city, state and federal government to seek out the $40 million that we need to renovate Bingham Park,” Resident Leader of the Cottage Grove Neighborhood Association Dale Hall said.
The next step for city leaders is to meet with community leaders and find out how the $11 million grant can be used and what the remediation plan is going to be.
