Glendale receives Best of the West Award for Grand Canal Linear Park

Glendale’s Parks & Recreation Department was honored with a Best of the West Award, presented by WESTMARC at the Renaissance Hotel in Glendale.

The Parks & Recreation Department was recognized for its Grand Canal Linear Park and Trail, an entry in the ‘Attractions, Destinations, and Entertainment’ category. The park, between 75th Avenue and Camelback Road, and State Route 101 and Bethany Home Road, features a bevy of amenities including recreational opportunities, an extensive trail system and playgrounds.

“The park is truly a multi-purpose facility, even though its primary function is flood control,” said Project Manager Mike Gregory. “However, with a partnership with The Flood Control District of Maricopa County and the contributions from citizens, the city was able to seize the opportunity to develop a multi-use park and trail system for the community.”

In addition, a pedestrian environment was developed to create safe surroundings for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, and equestrians by promoting accessibility, connectivity and continuity with other regional open spaces. This allowed the city to continue to support adjacent agencies, their trail systems and the innovative and collaborative approach to assuring the West Valley has updated and safe facilities.

Recreation activities and facilities have an impact on water, air, wildlife, transportation and aesthetics in our community. For example, trails such as the Grand Linear Trail, along with other trails in Glendale, led to Prevention magazine, in association with the American Podiatric Medicine Association, to identify the city of Glendale as the twelfth most “walkable” city in the Nation. This designation gave Glendale the highest ranking of any city in Arizona.

The Best of the West Award program recognizes programs and projects that, among other things, provide a unique impact on the community, foster a positive, high quality and balanced lifestyle, improve positive growth and economic development and improve the welfare of the region’s residents. All of these attributes led to WESTMARC’s selection of Grand Canal Linear Park to be honored with this award.

“This award would not have been possible without the support of our Mayor and Council,” said Parks and Recreation Director Becky Benna. “We believe assets such as the Grand Canal Linear Park help attract and retain businesses and residents, and we are honored to be recognized as a community that values quality of life for our residents.”

For information on Glendale’s parks, trails and other recreational amenities, visit www.glendaleaz.com/parksandrecreation or call 623-930-2820.