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Greater use sought for new veterans park
(by Mike Klimko - November 19, 2008)
Greater use sought for new veterans park
By MIKE KLIMKO
The new Solon Veterans Memorial Park being planned at at SOM Center (Route 91) and Bainbridge roads will be more than just a site where people gather for Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Councilman Edward H. Kraus said.
"My issue has always been Veterans Day is just one day," he said during last week's meeting of City Council's safety and public properties committee. "Veterans are 24, seven, 364 days a year." The park that will take shape over the next several months near the new fire station can draw the community together to honor veterans, Mr. Kraus said.
Plans for the park call for a linear configuration extending from the cupola of the new fire station along an axis leading northeast to the gazebo and then to the fountain near the corner. The cupola resembles the roof of the gazebo.
"We needed, as a city, to do something dramatic, not just for one day so that we can make folks come to this area. We had to figure out a way so that we can make it dramatic," Mr. Kraus said.
"We could make it inviting so that folks from our community would feel welcome to come every day. And we would see more people in the area, more families that would bring their children."
What became apparent to city officials over the past several years was the lack of foot traffic in the park, especially by families and residents who may not understand the role of veterans, Mr. Kraus said. Children ought to be taught the significance of what veterans were called upon to do in the course of the wars, he said. There seems to be little education of young people going on at the park, he said.
"We need to bring people back there. We need to make that area a central focus of our community. Many people are touched by veterans. Many people don't understand and forget the role of veterans."
People find inspiration on Nov. 11, when Veterans Day is observed, he said. Observance at the police department on Solon Road was a time for reflection of sacrifice, Mr. Kraus said.
"That needs to last. And it needs to be last throughout the year. I was looking for something dramatic," he said of the new park. "I wanted to make sure that we provided to this community something dramatic."
The plan for the new park assures a dramatic visibility with the configuration proposed by landscape architect Jeffrey Markley, of Bainbridge, Mr. Kraus said. Visibility is the key, he said.
"Ask any of our residents as they drive by Bainbridge and SOM, 'And what's that over there? What's that?' I guarantee you that many folks in our community would not be able to explain that that's the veterans memorial," Mr. Kraus said.
"Not only that, many people in our community have never even stopped and visited and looked at the memorial and understood the role that our veterans play. Whether it's the fountain and the configuration, we want to make sure folks can see it," he said.
"And secondly, I want to make sure that people visit, that it's inviting, that it's pedestrian friendly so that there are areas where families can come, walk around and show their children."
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