Cincinnati Parks has opened another section of the Smale Riverfront Park. New sets of porch swings have been installed to the west of the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Parks Board President Otto Budig Junior says the swings both tie people to the rest of the park, and separate them.
“There is so much joy and so much laughter, and so much… so much of children’s edification in the other parts of this park. These swings are separate and distinct. Because when you sit on them, when you sit on those swings you can do nothing but have tranquility and remembrance,” Budig says.
Budig is also the vice chair of the WVXU board of directors.
Mayor John Cranley says “This is spectacular. There’s no park anywhere as exciting as… this Smale Riverfront Park. It is absolutely stunning and beautiful. And we already know that the Rosenberg swings are a huge success because we already have the other half of them. And people use them.”
Both sets of swings were a donation from Dianne and David Rosenberg. Dianne Rosenberg says she was in the park on Saturday and saw how busy it was.
“What I sensed was what we really dreamed of. Members of all parts of this city are celebrating together in the fountains with their children,” Rosenberg says. “We are not just reaching out to a small sector. The park was filled. It was inundated with families of all ages. This is what this park is about. It’s bringing community together.”
There are three more sections of the park still under construction. Two of those are scheduled to be opened this week.
