"Significant Upgrades" Coming to Shakerag Park in Johns Creek

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Starting this month, Shakerag Park in Johns Creek will see some “significant upgrades” when the city replaces the current playground with what it’s dubbed new, “state of the art” play equipment.

Additional future improvements include a fishing pier, sidewalks, a renovated baseball field, a wildlife observation deck, new restrooms and a handicapped accessible parking lot, the city said in its press release.

All of the improvements, set to be constructed over the next several months, will accommodate people with disabilities. The parking lot will be reserved exclusively for seniors and people with disabilities.

“We’re excited about all the projects we have going on at Shakerag Park,” said Public Works Director Tom Black. “When we’re done, it will rank among the top-tier parks in north Fulton.”

The new playground, located by the lake, will have separate equipment for younger kids and older kids. The equipment includes slides, things to climb on, swing on, balance on, and play on. The equipment will be made of steel and coated with weather-resistant, heat-resistant plastic.

Johns Creek also is installing a shade structure over the play equipment. For safety, the ground will be covered with specially engineered wood fibers to cushion falls. Construction could take four to six weeks.

The city also is planning a 34-space parking lot located next to the park’s three ball fields. The new parking lot will eliminate a quarter-mile hike for people with disabilities who currently have to park in the main parking lot by the lake.

To accommodate the traffic to the new parking lot, the one-lane road from the existing parking lot will be widened to two lanes. A 600-foot sidewalk will be added from the Shakerag Elementary School to the park.

The city also envisions adding a wooden 30-foot-by-20-foot fishing dock and a 30-foot-by-40-foot wildlife observation deck at the lake. The schedule for those projects is undetermined.

Before summer, a baseball field located near River Trail Middle School will be laser-graded, re-sodded, irrigated and new, shaded stands will be built.