Former site of sludge pit looking rosy

Multinational oil company BP has been responsible for the cleanup, which Christensen said has cost "tens of millions of dollars."

"The oil companies have been very responsive and have taken ownership of the initiative," he said. "They've wanted to be a partner in this issue. I give them credit for working with us to try to resolve some of these issues."

EPA restrictions on the capped site limited Salt Lake City's options for reuse. City officials really wanted to build a new parking lot for the park to better accommodate people who play in adult soccer leagues there. The soccer fields are on the east side of the park, and its lone, undersized parking area was on the west.

Because no heavy equipment or digging is allowed in the capped area, city officials came up with a plan to create a lightweight parking area using gravel instead of asphalt. A control gate was built at the entrance to the new parking area to keep large vehicles — anything more than 8,000 pounds — from driving on the cap.

"It's kind of like a bank drive-through, but big vehicles can't get in there," Cook said.

The gravel access road also makes it easier for police to patrol the park, Christensen said.

"Having more sets of eyes in the park improves safety," he said.

The park is heavily used on weekends when adult soccer leagues use the fields. Christensen said he expects the addition of an off-leash dog area to attract more people to the park on weekdays as well.

No irrigation is allowed on the capped portion of the park, so the off-leash dog area will not be landscaped. Cook said the off-leash area will feature natural vegetation and be used much like Parley's Historic Nature Park.

More work is planned for Rosewood Park. The four tennis courts on the northwest corner of the park are scheduled to be resurfaced this month. Planned but not yet funded upgrades include renovation of the bathrooms and resurfacing of the asphalt parking lot.

"The park has had a lot of money invested in it, and it's really coming together," Cook said.

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E-mail: jpage@desnews.com