An Idaho horse-racing track that fell silent in 2015 reopens as a $42 million 50 acre park

(Image credit: Facebook/Expo Idaho) The transformation of abandoned spaces into public green spaces can offer a new life to landscapes that had once served a different purpose. In Garden City, Idaho, a former horse-racing track that fell silent in 2015 has now been reopened on the 23rd of October as a nearly 50 acre public park built on the former Les Bois horse racing track along the Bois River Greenbelt, bringing about restored wetlands, nature trails and recreational spaces along the Boise River. Known as the Park at Expo Idaho, the $42 million development funded through the American Rescue Plan Act gives the community a new outdoor destination with its olympic class skate park and playgrounds while bringing the site's natural landscape back into focus.The park occupies the former site of Les Bois Park, a horse-racing venue that became inactive after horse- racing wagering ended in 2015. Following this closure, Ada County began exploring how the land could be put to a different use. Its location along the Boise River floodplain, with a direct connection to the Boise River Greenbelt together became a great opportunity to create a public space that is an exemplar of recreation and...