Spring Lake Village leaders aim for accessibility all year long in Central Park renovation

Once the village Spring Lake’s Central Park renovations are complete, the township will have a year-round park accessible to all, officials say.

“Our hope for this and for all parks is that we want a universal park where people of all types can go. If you have a wheelchair or a child in a stroller, people should be able to use the park without going over those awful wood chips,” says Megan Doss, president of the Village of Spring Lake Parks and Recreation Board.

The park, which sits along the North Bank Trail at the end of Central Avenue, now has a small dog park, tennis courts, and softball and baseball diamonds, but it is in dire need of an update, officials say.

“We saw this as an opportunity to make a really awesome community space,” says Brady Selner, Spring Lake village manager. “The goal with this park is to increase year round use and enjoyment.”

Courtesy of the village of Spring LakeCentral Park will be accessible to all, year-round.

Accessible, year-round

Renovation plans intend to make the park feel more cohesive. It will have a completely new pavilion and plaza area, a fire pit, a universal playground, another custom-built playground, an ADA-compliant restroom, and a sledding hill where the softball and baseball diamonds now sit, mostly unused.

The village worked with Disability Network of West Michigan to review site plans, so the amenities and improvements will go beyond basic ADA compliance into true accessibility.

The dog park will also be renovated and more lighting installed, so even in the winter months when the sun sets early, people can enjoy the park, according to the site plan created by Tower Pinkster.

“The cool thing is it isn’t just what we think,” Doss says. “We had a community engagement survey.”

Community support

The community has an opportunity to drive more than the direction of site plans. Although the village has committed $500,000 and initiated the process to apply for grants from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Michigan Department of Natural Resources, more will be needed to cover the estimated $3-$3.5 million cost of renovations.

Financial donations should be sent to to Grand Haven Area Community Foundation with Central Park Spring Lake noted.

“If fundraising and the grant applications go well we’d be looking at finalizing design at the end of this year, breaking ground spring-early summer of 2026,” Selner says.