By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

CALERA – Calera Main Street celebrated a milestone with the official grand openings and ribbon cuttings for the new Calera Courtyard playground and alley activation on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

What started off as a pothole riddled shortcut for Calera residents trying to circumvent train tracks is now a pedestrian-friendly alley with a brand new playground just around the corner.

According to Calera Main Street Director Jackie Batson, revitalizing the alley has been a goal of the organization since its inception in June 2019. Since then, Calera Main Street has made small improvements to the space, such as adding string lights and restoring a Coca-Cola mural.

Now, the alley is finished with landscaping, metal benches and an entryway arch.

“I love this arch,” Batson said. “I’d like to call out Sloss Furnace Foundation, which is an amazing nonprofit that designed, fabricated, installed and completed this gorgeous work of art for us to welcome you to the Calera Courtyard.”

Batson also thanked several sponsored as well as the city of Calera for partnering with Calera Main Street on this project.

“The city of Calera has always been beside us since day one,” Batson said. “I need to personally thank our mayor and our council for always believing in us and for always getting behind what we want to do.”

Calera Mayor Jon Graham shared that revitalizing Main Street has been a dream for the city long before he took office, but that it wouldn’t have been possible without teamwork.

“It’s through the cooperation and the participation of the merchants down here, the property owners down here, the county and the state—with all the funding—that Main Street is able to come to fruition,” Graham said. “The task was tall. Today is just a glimpse of the good that the city can come together and produce with the help of all of our partners.”

In addition to the completed alley activation, Calera Main Street also officially opened the gates to the new playground.

Made possible through a partnership with Shelby County and the city of Calera, the Little Tikes commercial playground includes special designs by Unlimited Play to generate an inclusive environment for all children. In addition to sensory play panels and safety rails, the playground offers accessibility to the second deck and transfer stations to the slide for visitors using mobility devices.

The playground area also includes a Tot Builders playhouse, a surface spinner, concerto musical pieces and a swing set containing traditional belt swings, a tot swing and an inclusive seat.

Carole Lyons, the director of development and community relations for The Arc of Shelby County, shared that she sees a lot of potential in the new playground to be utilized in a variety of the Arc’s programs from picnic lunches to occupational and physical therapy.

“This playground is a wonderful addition to not just Calera, but to Shelby County,” Lyons said. “For it to be an inclusive playground that allows everyone of all ages and abilities to come out and socialize and fellowship, means the world for every individual, every parent, every family. I think this is a huge addition to this beautiful city. I think the town is doing wonderful things to utilize the downtown district.”

The inclusivity of the playground was also a talking point of residents and guests such as Deidre Garcia.

“I really loved it,” Garcia said. “I thought it was a great facility. I love how it’s so all-inclusive. I love the communication board. I like the swing where the baby and the mommy can swing together, and I love (the pavilion) right here. I love how you can sit in the shade when your kids are older and play. I think it’s great.”

Another guest, Makayla Gardner, liked the layout of the playground and how it impacted the experience of play.

“I like the two separate areas for younger kids and bigger kids,” Gardner said. “I like that there is only one entrance and exit so that you don’t have to go crazy with people that leave the doors open. It’s really nice.”

With the new Calera Courtyard features such as the playground, Calera Main Street looks forward to hosting several new events this year including the Car Show on Saturday, Sept. 21, Nerd Fest on Saturday, Nov. 16 and a Festival of Trees starting Saturday, Nov. 23.