The new comfort station was delivered and set in place at Mill Race Park during December. The facility has restrooms and a water fountain, and will serve that side of Mill Race Park as well as the Allegheny Highlands Bike Trail.
By Beth Christian Broschart
The Parsons Advocate
PARSONS – A new addition to Mill Race Park in Parsons will better serve those using the Park as well as visitors using the Allegheny Highlands Bike Trail. A comfort station, complete with bathrooms and a water fountain was trucked in and located at the Park, directly behind the Wellness 24 Fitness Center in Parsons. Parsons City Administrator/Treasurer said the station was made possible with the help of a grant from the Division of Highways Federal Transportation Enhancement Funds.
“This came about from funds that were received to originally build a boardwalk around the perimeter of Corrick’s Ford Battlefield,” Myers said. “That project hit a glitch when it was discovered that the proposed site of that boardwalk encroached on some wetlands. So we were permitted to use those funds for something that is directly associated with trails.”
Myers said on the pavilion side two of the park, there is a unisex bathroom facility.
“That restroom is very small and is not ADA compliant,” Myers said. “We were killing two birds with one stone with this project. We are putting in a bathroom on that side of the park that is adjacent to the bike trail. It is a total complete concrete bathroom.”
Myers said the facility arrived by truck and was put in place with a crane.
“We purchased the restroom in September and it was delivered Dec. 8,” Myers said. “It came fully equipped and has LED lights on the front and the back. It has a water fountain out front. It is ADA compliant and has automatic hand dryers.”
Myers said there is a small problem with the facility – it did not arrive with the colors that were ordered. “We are working on a solution to solve that problem,” Myers said.
“We had to run the water and sewer lines to the project site,” Myers said. “We also ran the underground electrical conduit to the facility as well. With leftover funds, we hope to install LED light fixtures along the bike trail.”
The funds received for the project totaled $87,990. That grant came from the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Enhancement Program administered by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways Federal Transportation Enhancement Funds.
