King's Bend Park

Published: 12/3/2004

Saturday, December 4th, we started booking 2005 reservations for the King's Bend Park lodges. Our first year has been a huge success and I thought I would share with you some of the statistics about the use it received and some of the comments we received from park patrons.

King's Bend Park was opened in September 2003. This 15-acre park sits on the north side of Jefferson Road between Clover Street and the Village of Pittsford. The park contains two ponds, the biggest of which is around 7 acres in size, that serve as a Stormwater Management facility for the Allen's Creek drainage basin. The park also features 2 lodges accommodating small groups of up to 50-persons in the South Lodge and large groups of up to 100-persons in the North Lodge. This past September, at the request of users, we were able to secure a grant and add a playground with swings, slides, etc.

The idea for this park originally came from a resident who suggested that we did not have any park or facilities where residents could hold family or neighborhood gatherings. After some consideration of this, we began looking at sites and looking at what other communities were doing and decided to add the two lodges at King's Bend.

The name King's Bend Park was suggested by Town Historian, Audrey Johnson who recalled that a family by the name of King lived at the bend in the original path of the Erie Canal that followed somewhat along Jefferson Road and then bent north and traveled along Monroe Avenue behind Pittsford Plaza. The location of King's Bend Park is at the approximate site of what was commonly referred to as King's Bend, after the family that resided there.

Our first year success has surpassed all expectations. Our experience has been that when people go to an event at the park, many subsequently book their own event because they have been so impressed with the quality and cleanliness of the lodges. It is also interesting to point out that Pittsford residents have made 90% of the reservations. Additionally, 25% of the reservations have been by repeat customers.

To date in 2004, we've taken 320 reservations and we are still booking. The lodges have been reserved close to 60% of the available times throughout the entire year. In fact, there was only one weekend (Friday through Sunday) when at least one of the lodges was not reserved. January and February were our slowest months. All the rest of the year we averaged 30 reservations per month.

One of the best indications of the park's success is the 100 follow-up phone calls we received from users of the lodges. Comments include appreciation for the quality and cleanliness of the lodges, appreciation for the park setting and thankfulness for the staff that was very polite and accommodating.

The success of the park, like everything we do, is a team effort. One of the real keys has been staff member Julie Donnelly who is responsible for lodge reservations. She answers literally hundreds of phone calls to respond to booking questions and has been extremely gracious doing so. Her organizational skills have also contributed greatly to the coordination that is necessary to make this park work as efficiently as it does.

Doug McVay and the entire Parks Department have worked hard in the development and the upkeep of the park grounds. They installed the new playground equipment and did a fabulous job. The playground has been a big hit and is getting lots of use. Dan Barnes and his Building Maintenance personnel provide the on-going maintenance of the interior of the buildings. The lodges are always clean and ready for each new group and we usually hear this from users of the facilities.

One of the personal touches we apply is that at the time the reservation begins, a member of the Building Maintenance or Parks staff opens the lodge and walks the responsible party through the building. This gives us an opportunity to makes sure the users are comfortable and familiar with the rules and the operations of the lodges. At the end of the reservation, staff arrives to help close the lodges and assure that all is left as it was found.

Throughout the month of December, residents have the right to reserve dates for next year. Non-resident requests will be accepted starting on Monday, January 3. I encourage you to visit the
King's Bend Park web page to learn more about and how to make lodge reservations.
Or you can call the Town of Pittsford Recreation Department of 248-6280.

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