Heights Libraries seeks public input on PEACE Park improvements

The Coventry PEACE Park currently includes green space and a playgound.

Heights Libraries is taking steps to ensure that the Heights Libraries PEACE Park remains an accessible, fun and useful public resource for the community.

The library has contracted with landscape architects Andrew Sargeant and Jim McKnight, at $9,000 each, to prepare sketches and develop an overall plan for the property, including cost estimates. They will also coordinate and gather public input about the park through three separate public events.

“Our PEACE Park is popular, and well loved, so we’re hoping we get plenty of input from our community so we can improve it, and make it an even better public asset for all,” said Nancy Levin, Heights Libraries director.

The first event, the Coventry PEACE Park Design Jam, took place on June 27. It encouraged community members to visit five stations and engage in activities to help Sargeant and McKnight determine what the community wants from the popular public space. The two architects will use the feedback they gathered at the event to inform their park designs.

The second event, planned for Saturday, July 24, 1–4 p.m., will be an open house at the Coventry Village Library, 1925 Coventry Road, where Sargeant and McKnight will display preliminary design proposals and answer questions from the community about the potential designs.

The third event will take place on Monday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., at the Coventry Village Library, after the library's board of trustees' meeting. Sargeant and McKnight will present final plans for the park, which could include an accessible playground, a walking storybook loop, an amphitheater and outdoor seating areas.

Fundraising for the project will be necessary before any construction can begin. It will be handled by the nonprofit Fund for the Future of Heights Libraries.

Since 2018, when Heights Libraries obtained the park from the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, the library has made small improvements, such as new trash cans and regular trash pickup; repair of the existing playground; new concrete walkways and pads for benches; a bicycle repair statio; and parking lot upgrades, including better lighting.