It’s been months of back and forth among the Astoria community and Parks Department over the first phase of improvements to Astoria Park. The way to spend $30 million for upgrades received a lot of opinions from new and old Astorians alike.

The money was put forward as part of the city’s Anchor Parks initiative since last August. The upgrades, done in phases and including five city parks in total, will consist of improving play capacity in its first phase. Soccer fields, comfort stations, running tracks and hiking trails will all get a facelift.

Image: Parks Department/QNS

What do you think of Astoria Park’s new look?

The Astoria Park track field will see most of the enhancements. The soccer field that’s currently there will be replaced by a 180 by 360 foot synthetic turf. The track itself will also be replaced by a new 400 meter one. There will also be space allocated towards adult fitness equipment, drinking fountains and bottle fillers.

The area will get new bleachers and new seating, making things a little more comfortable for those looking for a place to rest and watch the sun set.

The re-design is set for completion in December 2017 and will cost around $13.5 million. This leaves another $16.5 million for other phase improvements. Those improvements will consist of Charybdis Playground reconstruction along with rain gardens to add more green infrastructure and new programming for the community.