Progress on park

The board of the Chico Avenues Neighborhood Association is close to signing off on Enloe Medical Center’s latest design for a small park near the hospital, according to John Whitehead (pictured), the group’s president.

CANA, which represents area residents, still wants to review completed construction drawings, and the plan still must be approved by the city.

If approved, it will end a long-standing quarrel over the shape of the park. The new design has the park filling the block west of the hospital, with three exceptions: The two refurbished houses Enloe uses as office space and a new 64-space parking lot on Fifth Avenue.

This design effectively satisfies CANA’s demand for a buffer to be created along Arcadian Avenue to screen the homes from lights and activity at the hospital.