At the new and improved Aston Park tennis courts community members take advantage of three regulation-size courts.

The City of Asheville was recently awarded a two-year “Fit Community” grant of $60,000 to continue the recent improvements to Aston Park. The renovations completed last March included a walking trail, a gazebo with picnic tables, new playground equipment, basketball goals, and a tennis backboard. The vision of the new grant is to restore Aston Park to its place as a treasured community resource.

Fit Community grants are dedicated to improving the health of a community through physical activity and/or nutritional programs. More playground equipment for children will be added, and free fitness programs will be offered in the park to increase opportunities for physical activity for the community. The goal is for children and families of the diverse groups who live in the area or attend neighborhood schools, churches, and after-school programs to have a safe, fun, and engaging place to play within walking distance.

Such daily use of the park by area residents will improve the health and safety of the community, and, it is hoped, also create a space for community-building.

Given the history of the park, the project will continually seek guidance from the community to ensure that the site becomes a more attractive recreation area. A survey was conducted in July of neighbors, organizations, and businesses in the South French Broad and West End-Clingman Avenue areas. The information gathered will be used to help choose playground equipment and recreation programs as well as address factors that influence whether or not people use the park. The newly formed Aston Gateway Community Board, made up of representatives from neighborhood partners, will be an integral part of the grant implementation and will ensure that the park becomes what the community wants it to be.

Aston Park has gone through many stages, from being a segregated park to one that was a central place of neighborhood activity, to a state of disrepair and crime, and now to its current state of renewal. To encourage greater use of the park by all community members, the project will address the history and perceptions of the park. One way of doing this will be to talk about the park using photographs owned or taken by residents. This photo project will be geared towards empowering the community to address safety concerns and racial inequities regarding park use.

There is still a lot of work to be done to improve the park and the surrounding area: some residents sat they still don’t feel safe walking down South French Broad to get to Aston Park. But many neighbors have said that they already feel safer in the park because more people are out using it: families enjoy the playground, couples play tennis, YWCA summer campers play kickball.

Sharing the history, current state, and envisioned future of the park with the community and policy makers can be a powerful process for change. Current residents and those who grew up in the area and who have memories or pictures of the park at its various stages are encouraged to participate in upcoming conversations about Aston Park.