Red Oak Park in Ward 4 — City's First Ephemeral Park

Red Oak Park is narrow and wooded with an opening at its SE corner. The woods catch water from houses and streets upstream. The watershed used to be wetland prairie. Its concrete streets and storm drains dump into the park and cause flash floods during rain, eroding soil and creating a ditch-like stream and leaving tree roots bare. The Park Division of Fayetteville, Arkansas, is trying to find a way to protect the mature hardwood trees in the park and make the space safer and more accessible.