NEW ORLEANS -- New changes are coming to City Park, one of the nation's oldest, major public parks.
The sprawling, 1,300 acres of green space in the heart of the city withstood major damage from floodwaters after Hurricane Katrina.
"Before, it was like messy, but now it looks really great now," said park visitor Chancellor Decay of Harvey.
Since the storm, repair money from FEMA and donations have helped restore some of the park. Now, the effort is well underway to implement the park's Master Plan by 2018.
"I think we're moving a little faster than 2018 and we still have a lot of fundraising we need to do for that," said Lisa Laraway, City Park's Recreational Services director.
Laraway said park visitors will begin to see new amenities at the park in the next few months.
At the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, new rides have been added, with another one coming in June. Officials are also in the process of moving the tennis courts to Marconi Meadows to make room for miniature golf and, eventually, a splash water park. The changes are all designed to help generate money for City Park.
"Because of the position we're in with having to generate our own revenue, in order to keep us alive, we do have to create as many things as we can that we know will create revenue for the park itself, but also to give something for all the people in the city to be able to go to," Laraway said.
"It's beautiful," park visitor Nicholas Decay said. "So many people come here to enjoy it and walk around with their dogs and stuff."
A new dog park is set to open at the end of March as well. Some of changes though are already in place, including the new walking trail and boating on Big Lake.
"With the dock and the boating, and the swans in the lake, it is absolutely gorgeous," said Deborah Pounds, who lived across of City Park after Hurricane Katrina and has watched the park's progress since then. "This is good work. City Park is an asset of New Orleans and it is here to stay."
Construction is also underway on a new administration building. The park's offices have been housed in trailers since Katrina. What happens next with the rest of City Park, though, will depend largely on fundraising efforts.
