Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 3, Issue 3

55 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 TOWN OF PAYSON, AR I ZONA call, ‘the original heart of Payson’. It’s the area where the community first developed before Highway 87 was built. Originally an old wagon trail, it’s now Main Street. Klein shares, “It just has a vibe; it’s full of great history. It’s positioned between Green Valley Park and the Sawmill Theatres, so there’s good entertainment on both sides. Scattered throughout, there is every type of business. Every December, the Electric Light Parade travels along there too. It’s the place where everybody gathers to have fun.” In addition to the downtown core, Payson also has an impressive network of interconnecting sidewalks and trails, called the Payson Area Trail System (PATS). Some areas are still under Payson Campus of Eastern Arizona College, but as Deschaaf explains, “We want to provide more options for higher education. They’ve also begun construction of a park on the site – the Granite Dells Park Complex. That will be the location of our second urban lake. Payson Town Council is working on a partnership with RCEA, which is responsible for all the building. The ultimate plan is to donate the park back to the community. There are also plans to build a community center on the same site. Both the park and the community center are typical components to any university campus.” Just a few miles from the Granite Dells Park Complex, is the downtown district, which locals