Cardinal Run North

Preliminary plans for Lexington’s first large park in decades include walking trails, sports fields, a dog park and plenty of open space.

Cardinal Run North, bordered by Parkers Mill, New Circle and Versailles roads, will also feature a playground, restrooms, sheltered picnic areas and plenty of open space, plans unveiled Tuesday show.

The 137-acre park was acquired by the city in 1997. Cardinal Run, a baseball park opposite Cardinal Run North on Parkers Mill Road, was developed more than two decades ago. Lack of funding meant the nearly 140-acres remained untouched for decades.

Thanks to $121 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, the city was able to set aside $10 million from coronavirus relief funding to build the first phase of the large, regional park in Fayette County in decades.

During a Tuesday Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council work session, staff with Brandstetter Carroll, a consultant hired to help develop preliminary plans for the park, presented their findings.

Those preliminary designs were informed by a public meeting…