The saga of Worrell Wayside sounds like a Joni Mitchell song come to life.
In January the Board of County Commissioners voted 2-1 to redesign the county park to allow for more parking.
A group of concerned citizens didn’t want to see paradise paved.
“What we’ve really been trying to do is educate and bring awareness and not be adversarial about it, but really bring people to understand that once this is made into a parking lot, and we have so many of them, we won’t ever have anything like this ever again,” said organizer Donna Owens.
The patch of volcanic rock and native plants at the north end of Wall Street is slated to be leveled because of code requirements for more parking spaces for an upcoming courthouse expansion.
▶️ Worrell Park to be redeveloped, parking added in $2.5 million project
The group has been holding monthly rallies at the park hoping to change the course of the project.
It could be working, Owens tell us county staff are still looking at the parking issue.
“But they’ve told me they’ve not dropped Worrell as part of the option, they’re reevaluating the need,” said Owen.
The group plans to hold another event next month to celebrate the park’s 25th anniversary.
You can find more information on the efforts to save the Worrell here.





