The future of Whitman Park remains up in the air as the City Council finalizes its strategic plan and prepares the 2026 budget, but it remains unlikely that the park would reopen for drop-in day-use activities.

Two years ago the city of Grand Junction erected fencing around Whitman Park near downtown, transitioning it from a day-use park to a reservation-only event space. Last year the city, following a public engagement process, unveiled a preliminary design for future upgrades to the park, but further design work has not yet been undertaken.

“We’re at a place where we’re still evaluating the best way forward,” Parks and Recreation Director Ken Sherbenou said. “We (did) a lot of public processes in 2024 related to a renovation of that park. That 2024 process saw a lot of public engageme

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