Reading — Test 36

Reading passage

Riverside Gazette — Community Voices: Should the City Redo Elm Street Park? The city has proposed a $2.3 million renovation of Elm Street Park, replacing the aging wooden playground, repaving the cracked walking paths, and adding a splash pad for summer months. Public comments have been pouring in ahead of next month's council vote. Priya Nathwani, who lives two blocks from the park, is fully behind the plan. "My kids won't go near that playground anymore — the slide has a hole in it, and I've seen rusty bolts sticking out near the swings. If the city keeps patching instead of replacing, we're just wasting money on a problem that will never go away. A splash pad also means families like mine won't have to drive twenty minutes to the pool every time it's hot." Not everyone agrees. Don Fetterly, a retired accountant who has lived near the park for thirty years, worries about the price tag. "Two million dollars is a lot to ask taxpayers to cover when the current equipment, while old, still works. Couldn't we just fix the broken pieces for a fraction of the cost? I'd rather see that money go toward the potholes on Maple Avenue, which affect far more residents every single day." Community league volunteer Grace Okafor sees a middle path. "I support upgrading the playground because safety shouldn't be optional, but the splash pad feels like a lower priority right now. Maybe the city could phase the project — do the essential safety repairs this year and revisit the splash pad once the budget allows." The parks department says it will review all submissions before finalizing its recommendation. Residents can still send written comments through the city's website until the fifteenth of this month, ahead of the council's scheduled vote.

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