Council Bluffs officials say excellent progress is being made on what’s to be called River’s Edge Park. The 90-acre development is at the foot of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, which joins Council Bluffs and Omaha. Larry Foster, Council Bluffs’ parks director, says the new park will provide access to the city’s trail system and preserve the wetlands area, while offering all sorts of entertainment options.
Foster says, “In the middle of the park, there’ll be what we call the Great Lawn which is about a five-acre piece of property that will be used for festivals, major events, concerts.” He says one of the goals is to bring family fun back to the area. Foster says, “Right on the edge of the river, there’ll be plazas and a couple of beach areas, some sand areas that people will think of a little bit of a beach environment.”
He says Council Bluffs officials are already looking at events that could be held in conjunction with the College World Series at T-D Ameritrade Park across the river. Part of the excitement of the baseball tournament is fireworks and Foster says they may designate part of the park for that purpose.
“We actually would develop a place where fireworks can be set off so I think there will be a lot of chances to incorporate the College World Series and other things that happen on the Omaha side,” he says.” The River’s Edge Park recently received a national award for its design and construction.