Benton Heights opens first community park after 12-year push, shaped by local children

Benton Heights Celebrates First Developed ParkPhoto credit: New Heights CCDA/ Facebook For more than a decade, families in the Benton Heights neighbourhood of Benton Township, Michigan, watched children play in yards, on street corners and in schoolyards, but had no local park of their own. Residents first began formally asking for a playground in 2012, attending meetings and submitting requests as years turned into a decade without a dedicated green space. Now, after about $1 million in investment and a design process that put local kids at the table, the community has finally opened its first park: Euclid Park. As reported by the WSJM, the grand opening this week marked not just the completion of swings, slides and walking paths, but the culmination of a long, grassroots campaign by neighbours who refused to let the idea die.A neighbourhood without a parkBenton Heights is a primarily residential area in Benton Township, just outside St. Joseph and Benton Harbour in southwest Michigan. Like many older neighbourhoods, it was built with homes, schools and churches, but with limited dedicated recreational land. For years, families who wanted a park had to drive to other parts of the ...