Improvements at Optimist Park are expected to last for five months, bringing to the Tempe neighborhood renovated playground equipment, new shade structures, trees and ramadas, improved lighting, fitness stations and upgraded irrigation, city officials said.

After asking the community for comments on the project, the Option B layout was chosen.

 The playground area will be closed the entire time work is underway. The El Paso path will remain open during construction. Some sidewalk areas may be closed for short durations, according to a city release.

The improvements are funded out of the city’s Capital Improvement Program budget, as part of the Parks Improvement Plan, which city officials stated in the release “is reinvesting more than $60 million into Tempe parks over the next five years.”

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