Arcola Lakes Park is a very popular place that is used by the whole community. Young people come here to play tennis or handball, and older people come to walk on the trail, take a ceramics class or attend meetings in the community center. The barbecue area gets used for a birthday party or family reunion nearly every weekend. The heavily used park has a successful youth tennis program, a small community center, and a walking path for senior citizens. The addition of the adjacent land will provide more open space in a densely populated area and will help eliminate recurring flooding problems by allowing the creation of a natural stormwater retention area.
Additional plans call for construction of a picnic shelter, walkway and landscaping.
Any hour of the day you will find dozens and dozens of men, women and families walking. They love the walking trail. Mrs. Pinder, who also serves as chair of the West Little River Community Development Advisory Board, has been involved with the site since the original park was created in 1982. She said that including the trailer park in the facility was part of the plan from the beginning, but the money wasn't available and the owner didn't want to sell. It wasn't until the involvement of TPL's Miami senior project manager Brenda Marshall that the deal came together.