New North Naples park officially opens

Shaded by pines, palms and a towering oak, she will sit on the benches that dot the walkway around the new Willoughby Acres Park on Mentor Drive in North Naples. And she'll watch the world go by, she said.

"I like the sidewalk that goes around it," Jessica said of the 1-acre park. "I just like sitting down and watching everything."

The park officially opened on Saturday morning, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and cook-out. But Jessica -- as well as some other area residents -- has been using the park for several weeks. The new playground equipment was installed in August.

"I've used it a lot," Jessica said of the park. "I bring my little brothers down here."

Mentor Drive and the new park are located off Euclid Drive, which is west of Interstate 75 on the north side of Immokalee Road.

The park project started three years ago, said Marla Ramsey, director of the Collier County Parks and Recreation Department.

Working with a committee that included members of the community, the park was developed to include the playground and brick walkway that is about 1,000 feet long and loops around the park. The design managed to preserve the many trees that are on the property, Ramsey said.

"We tried to keep every tree we could possibly keep," she said.

Craig Leonard, who lives a few houses away from the park on Mentor Drive, served on that design committee. During a short ceremony to open the park, he told an audience of about 30 people that he has seen the park begin to entertain some activity.

"I can tell already that it is a success," Leonard said, "judging by how many parents and children come down to enjoy it."

The park is designed to be visited by foot or on bike, Ramsey said. To that end, there is no on-site parking.

Jean Dooling said she and her family are already putting the park to use. She brought her 5-year-old daughter, Tristin, and 2½-year-old son, Lawson, to the opening event. Family members live about two blocks away, on Willoughby Drive, and ride their bikes to the park on Saturdays, Dooling said.

"It's kind of a ritual," she said.

For Dooling, it's especially nice to have a local park; previously, she took her children to Cambier Park in downtown Naples to play.

"It's just great to have a neighborhood park," she said.

Dooling said she likes that the park was kept "kind of woodsy" in its development.

Parent and neighborhood resident Carmen Brown used to take her children to Veterans Park, which is also located off Immokalee Road, but farther west. Daughters Anna, 5, and Sarah, 18 months, will definitely use the new neighborhood playground equipment, Brown said.

"The walkway is beautiful, too," she said.