This section offers Cary citizens an update on the projects funded by the Shaping Cary’s Tomorrow Parks and Transportation Bonds overwhelmingly approved in a 2019 referendum.

Downtown Cary Park

The Downtown Cary Park is 70% complete. All buildings and bridges are under construction, and hardscape preparation and installation have begun. Jobs for the new park have been posted for planning and marketing supervisors and a maintenance coordinator, and marketing efforts continue to build excitement for the new park. In addition, the contractor Balfour Beatty selected the park to host its 2022 Kay Yow Pink Out, for which the company’s subcontractors raised $36,000 for cancer research.

Cary Tennis Park

In November 2021, funding was approved to add upgraded LED sports lighting at the Cary Tennis Park on four tennis courts. Cary tested the new lights this summer and used them for the recent U.S. Tennis Association tournament. The new technology allows staff to activate the lights and adjust the level of lighting from a smart phone.

Park Upgrades Complete 

Cary completed renovations at R.S. Dunham Park, Annie Jones Park, and Walnut Street Park this summer. Additions and improvements included new tennis courts for Dunham Park and Annie Jones Park, two new pickleball courts and one basketball court for Walnut Street Park, and court lighting and public Wi-Fi for all three parks. Renovations at Dunham Park included adding a hitting wall and a paved greenway connection from Ryan Road to Walnut Street, and the Annie Jones Park work included
a new restroom facility.  

While renovating Dunham Park, staff engaged with the Coronado Village community, which resulted in a mutually beneficial solution to existing drainage issues. A temporary sediment basin installed as a requirement of construction became a permanent stormwater control measure. This vegetated wetland will significantly reduce peak stormwater runoff from the park and slowly release it after rainfall, lessening the likelihood of impact to nearby properties. Nine species of native wetland vegetation were planted, and the majority of the plants are flowering pollinators. The wetland adds beauty, removes pollutants from stormwater, and provides stormwater detention. 

The 46th annual Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival operated at full scale for the first time since 2019. Council member Jennifer Bryson Robinson provided remarks for the festival’s opening ceremonies and was joined by Council members Don Frantz, Ya Liu, and Carissa Kohn-Johnson. Festival founder Jerry Miller participated in the opening ceremonies and presented six artists with the best in show awards. Attendees purchased art from more than 250 artisans, enjoyed food from a variety of vendors, listened to music on four stages, and painted 18,432 squares to complete two paint-by-number murals. More than 250 volunteer shifts were filled, and the Cary Teen Council sold a record number of bottles of water to raise $4,480. A cross-departmental team served in unified command off-site at Fire Station 9, providing support to the operations team on the ground at Town Hall. Image Credit: Alyson Boyer Rode

Cary Tennis Park hosted the Atlantic Tire Championships from Sept. 11 to 18. Attendance at this year’s event increased 25% over the same event in 2021, and new court lighting made play later into the evening possible. The tournament sponsored several community events, including a wheelchair tennis clinic, an Abilities Tennis clinic, and a Cary Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event. Cary staff and a core group of more than 60 volunteers contributed to the tournament’s success. Singles champion Michael Mmoh expressed gratitude for everything the tournament had to offer, stating, “the hospitality, the facility, the crowd, the atmosphere — nothing really matches it.”  

This summer, 1,750 youth participated in Cary summer camps via about 450 different full- and half-day experiences offered for ages 4 to 15 over 11 weeks. Highlights of the summer included the reopening of camps at 13 different locations, engaging summer interns to assist in day-to-day operations, a wider variety of specialty camp options, and full-day camps returning to weekly field trips. However, the challenges of staffing and COVID-19 led to some unexpected cancellations and an unusually high number of camp withdrawals (25%). In comparison, the previous average withdrawal rate was around 14%. As Cary looks ahead to 2023, staff will build on successes and expand collaborations to continue to serve the Cary community. 

Families enjoyed quality time together at the second Fall Family Night at Bond Park. Created as a replacement for the Bond Park Campout during COVID-19, Cary citizens requested the return of the event, which grew to 25 families this year. The park was lit with luminaries so citizens could rotate through a variety of stations at their leisure, including tie dye, stargazing, axe throwing, boating, and s’mores. Participants requested similar, more frequent events moving forward.  

The 5th annual BEYOND: The Cary Film Festival took place Sept. 15 to 18 at The Cary. The festival featured more than 20 short films from around the world, a live table read of “Dark Ride,” the 2022 winning screenplay, industry workshops, and networking events for filmmakers. More than 450 people and 19 filmmakers and industry representatives attended the festival, and this was the first year Cary awarded cash prizes to winners. 

Cary Teen Council returned to in-person volunteering this fiscal year. The Teen Council offered new-member registration this quarter and now has 860 members ready to serve their community at area schools, special events, races, and much more. Keep a lookout for their signature red shirts. 

After a two-year hiatus, Cary welcomed back the Repair Café, an event focused on repairing items to keep them out of the landfill. Through this event, local “fix-it coaches” provide free repair services for a variety of objects to support the community’s waste reduction efforts. About 45 attendees brought in a total of 51 items for repair, including talking teddy bears and televisions. Cary is planning a second Repair Café for spring 2023 to continue supporting an appreciation of materials and the value of repair and reuse versus disposal.

In keeping with long-range environmental goals, staff teamed up with consultants to develop a climate action plan and a municipal pathways analysis that will create a united approach to ensure a sustainable and resilient future. The consultants are reviewing the existing greenhouse gas inventory data, plans, and policies for the community to assemble baseline metrics before the next phase of developing a draft analysis of existing conditions.