BOISE, Idaho — Boise city leaders joined with members of the Bowler family Tuesday for a ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication for a new community.
Bowler Park is located in southeast Boise along South Surprise Way. The 25-acre park features a variety of amenities for families, pet owners, and athletes of all ages.
"This community park is a great example of how we can build incredible recreational amenities while preserving natural habitat in our neighborhoods," said Mayor Lauren McLean. "It's wonderful to see so many different interests and activities included in this new park and I know residents will enjoy it for generations to come."
It includes six acres for recreational amenities and community gathering spaces.
Bowler Park features a skateboard/scooter plaza with rails, ramps and other features. Nearby is an outdoor gym and several bocce ball courts. The park also features a playground with accessible features for children of all ages and abilities to enjoy, mister poles to cool down park visitors on hot days, and large and small shade structures to serve as community gathering places.
Bowler Park also features the city's newest dog park. The dog park is fully fenced and covers about 1.25 acres, including a separate area for shy dogs. A watering station complete with a dog bowl, is also included on site.
"Our planning and design team did a fantastic job incorporating a variety of uses into this unique space," said Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway. "They also worked closely with our Community Forestry unit to create opportunities for shade, and 40 trees have been planted across the park including honey locust, scotch pine and tulip trees that will continue to grow and flourish."
About 19 acres of the park will remain undeveloped in order to preserve the sage brush stands on site. Protection of natural sagebrush habitat directly supports the City of Boise's goals for the America the Beautiful Campaign.
The City of Boise purchased the Bowler Park property from Beth and Bruce Bowler in 1995.
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