The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park located on the south side of Peoria has some new play equipment. Park District and city of Peoria officials celebrated the opening of the new park facility located next to Fire Station 8, along MacArthur Highway. The equipment is red and yellow and is fire-department themed.
Mark Johnson is a Park District Board of Trustee, representing the south district. He says families requested new park equipment for children.
“It’s a good place to have the children come and be safe. They have to have things to do and I find that when children are busy, they have less time to get into trouble. I’d rather recreate instead of incarcerate. When you have good quality recreational facilities, it’s a good quality of life,” said Johnson.
A new sidewalk was also constructed to connect a path around the entire park for walking, running or riding bicycles. The 235-thousand dollars facility was paid for through the former Southtown TIF District.