Cedar Falls Park opens new restroom and picnic facilities

Residents who use Cedar Falls Park on cold winter days will no longer have to use the restroom in unheated Port-a-Johns after new restroom and picnic facilities opened at the park on Feb. 23.

The renovations have been in the works for a few years and cost about $277,000 total, said Bill Webster, planning and development manager for Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation.

To complete the project, the department tore down the old restroom building, which was built in the 1970s, Webster said. He said there were a number of problems with the old facilities. 

“Frankly, they were pretty disgusting,” Webster said.

The entire septic system had to be redone in order to open the new restrooms, which are also heated, he said. Webster said the facilities were previously unheated and closed off each winter, so park-goers had to use Port-a-Johns.

He said the picnic shelter brings another welcome change to the heavily used park, because picnic shelters in other parks around the area are used constantly for birthday parties, work groups and other gatherings.

“The picnic shelters are one of the most requested facilities in all of our parks,” he said. 

Although Webster said the park is already used abundantly, the new facilities could bring in even more traffic. Chapel Hill resident Rick Hayes said he would be much more likely to visit a park with a picnic shelter because it would add to the tranquil atmosphere. 

“It will block me from the heat,” Hayes said. “I can lay down on the bench for while, maybe catch a few z's. Maybe order some Campus Calzones and just relax.”

UNC freshman Jessica Baccicheti said picnic shelters are attractive features in any park. 

“It makes the environment more relaxing and inviting,” she said. “People can gather together and eat.”

Webster said the picnic shelter at Cedar Falls can be rented out in four-hour periods for $25. 

The park also opened a new synthetic turf field in 2014. Webster said it doubled park usage and is a popular soccer field. 

To Carrboro resident Ed Eldred, the turf field and 1.5 mile trail loop at Cedar Falls are better features than the picnic shelter. He said he is more likely to go to a park with trail access and places for his daughter to play. 

Regardless of what brings people to the park, the new restrooms and picnic shelter are designed to make Cedar Falls more comfortable for visitors. Baccicheti said people don’t use parks enough these days.

“I don’t think people really remember parks," she said. "We’ve become too urbanized."