Why Gill Street Park has sections that are closed off?

April 17, the Town of Zebulon closed off the Privette Street and northern perimeters of Gill Street Park as the Town engages in environmental remediation projects on the site.

This decision was made following proactive soil testing in the park as the Parks and Recreation Department looked to build a new playground and explore installing bathrooms for Gill Street Park. Since Gill Street Park is located on top of a former landfill and constructed in the 1960s, soil testing was a proactive measure taken to ensure we’re safeguarding the health and safety of our residents and parkgoers.

Preliminary soil testing revealed that lead levels in certain parts of the park exceeded residential soil standards set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. After learning about these preliminary results, the Town of Zebulon acted swiftly to respond. Results are in the process of verification through laboratory soil testing.

Closed off areas are made up of areas whose preliminary soil testing results exceeded residential standards including two perimeters of the park located at the northern and western sides, as well as two additional, individual spots outside the playground fence. Areas closed off are predominantely undeveloped spaces. Closed off areas are currently marked by orange tree fencing sectioning them off.

All park amenities will remain open following preliminary soil testing, including the basketball court, shade structures, playground, and swing sets.

The Town of Zebulon has already taken early remediation steps. Additional mulch was added inside the park play area, increasing the barrier between play surfaces and park soil, a common and effective remediation technique in similar situations. We are 
consulting subject matter experts to outline further remediation processes so we can ensure Gill Street Park remains a safe, healthy, and enjoyable place for recreation and play.

Additionally, the Town is working to identify consultants to engage in conversations with members of the Gill Street community. These conversations are intended to surround the future of Gill Street Park as well as the needs of the Gill Street community so the Town can identify how to best serve them. You'll hear more about these opportunities soon.

The Town of Zebulon is committed to the Gill Street community and maintaining open spaces for recreation, play, and community gathering. We are in the process of exploring how we can best serve the community and will be actively seeking feedback from community members so we can best meet their needs.

4/18/14 UPDATE: Zebulon Parks and Recreation Director Sheila Long updated the Board of Commissioners on Gill Street Park.

History of Gill Street Park

In the 1960s, the Town of Zebulon took steps to convert a defunct neighborhood landfill into a new park, covering the landfill and building green space atop it. Gill Street Park was built for the Gill Street community, a historically Black community in Zebulon.

In 1968, basketball courts and play equipment were installed on the site, with few major improvements made to the park afterwards for nearly half a century. In 2006, the Town constructed a playground in the park, saw a T-swing and safety surfacing around the swings installed in 2019, and had the basketball court renovated and shade structures installed in 2022.

Although the current Zebulon Parks and Recreation Department has taken major steps to update and enhance Gill Street Park, including steps to construct a new playground at the site which is why soil testing was initially performed, the site itself faces historical roadblocks to serving the needs of the community.

On top of it being constructed on top a landfill, Gill Street Park is only an acre-sized lot, while most neighborhood parks are 3-5 acres, making it only meet the criteria for a micro park. Much of the unconstructed land on Gill Street Park is made up of flood prone soils. And its topography can present accessibility challenges to persons with disabilities.

Historically, Gill Street Park been underrepresented in community planning. To determine the future of Gill Street Park, open spaces, and recreational opportunities in the area, the Gill Street community needs to be consulted every step of the way. The Town of Zebulon has taken those steps with recent improvements to Gill Street Park and will actively take steps to continue that work going forward.

Timeline of Next Steps

The Town of Zebulon is working with experts to determine the best path forward for environmental remediation at Gill Street Park.

The Town of Zebulon has already taken early remediation steps. Additional mulch was added inside the park play area, increasing the barrier between play surfaces and park soil, a common remediation technique in similar instances.

As we continue the process, we will update this page further.

Health and Environmental Safety

We will always take the health and safety of our residents and parkgoers with the utmost seriousness and we wanted to provide additional information that may contextualize the soil testing results.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality monitors potentially hazardous sites and uses a scoring matrix to assess risk. The NCDEQ placed Gill Street Park at 458 out of 624 sites, placing the park low on the NCDEQ's risk rankings.

Wake County has more information on lead contamination and safety here.

Accessing Other Zebulon Parks

While only parts of Gill Street Park are closed off and we encourage you to enjoy the amenities available, the Town of Zebulon has a series of incredible parks to visit while we work on the remediation process at Gill Street Park. You can find a list of other parks here. Parks like Whitley Park and Community Park have similar services and activities as Gill Street Park, allowing continued recreation and play experiences for your family.

The GoWake SmartRide program offers free public transportation in our community that will allow you to access other parks in Zebulon. The SmartRide program is a point-to-point, on-demand rideshare program that will pick you up and drop you off in Zebulon and surrounding communities. 

Contact Us

For more information, please contact us at parks@townofzebulon.org.