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Home My WebLink About1985-05-06 - MinutesI FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT P. 0. DRAWER F 72702 (501) 521-7700 PRAB May 6, 1985 PRESENT: Dale Clark, Rodney Ryan, David Lashley, Beverly Melton, Bill Waite, Bob Emerson, J.O. York, Charlie Sego, Chuck Yarbrough, Connie Edmonston GUEST: VA Hospital - Dan Kadrovach, John Mahaffey U of A HPER - Dr. Harold Moore Veterans Administration Request for a road through Gregory Park: PRAB Recommendation One of the major challenges of our time is to make our cities livable. Noise, congestion, polluted air, and traffic are the bane of urban living. Green spaces provide an antidote. As man cannot live by bread alone, so he needs to be surrounded by more than stone, asphalt, and cement. The national, state and county parks feel a real need; it is a matter of record that millions of people enjoy their advantages. But there are also millions who no longer have the time or energy to seek these parks To them, in spite of .the rapid transit and freeways, whatever refreshments their spirits receive must come from the immediate surroundings where much .of..their life is spent. The places they work, the places they live, and the road between. The task is to create a total environment in which people can live most fully and happily. The parks and recreation profession along with members of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board are concerned with the need for parks, play areas, and other outdoor sites that will contribute to the visual environment and provide useful settings for play. Gregory Park is a unique park in its natural state. It is a nature park. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board's plans for Gregory Park include the park as a nature area, horticultural walk area and a picnic area. Further, traffic running through the park is unsafe and opposes PRAB May 6, 1985 Page 2 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT P. 0. DRAWER F 72702 (501) 521-7700 PRAB's concept in keeping traffic out of the parks. This is evident in the situation at Wilson Park in which the interior roads are eventually being closed overused and Gregory Park future. and are being replaced by parking lots. Wilson Park is congested and it is the opinion of the Parks Board that may help relieve the congestion of Wilson Park in the The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board strongly opposed the destruction. of the only natural park area left in the central city for what appears to be a very marginal improvement in the egress of traffic from the VA Hospital. It is the feeling of the PRAB that other alternatives should be explored in muchgreater detail with.a location and This objection even if it could be before considering such an irrevocable change in an area character that is irreplacable. to the conversion of use of this area would remain demonstrated that the proposed plan were the only means of overcoming objections to the current means of egress from the VA Hospital. However, the following analysis shows that the proposed plan offers limited improvement in the reduction of slope in egress which is presumably the major objection to the current situation when exiting on Woolsey. To truly reduce the maximum slope to something substantially better would involve much more extensive earth work than shown. This would be to the extent that alternative routes such as along the east side of the park are equally useable. The VA Hospital seeks to provide an exit to the North that does not have the very severe slope of Woolsey Avenue from the current exit down to Sycamore Street (nearly a 25% grade). They maintain it is impossible to direct their patients and visitors to exit south on Woolsey. Avenue. However, consider the proposed road and in particular that section nearest Sycamore Street. The fall shown from the 1425 contour to Sycamore is near 30 feet. This occurs over a distance of less than 200 feet,'resulting May 6, 1985 Page 3 FAYETTEITILLE, ARKANSAS PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT P. 0. DRAWER F 72702 (501) 521-7700 in a slope in excess of 15%. This is certainly not an inconsequential slope, particularly if contrasted with that of the North Street -71 Intersection. To provide a level area near the Sycamore intersection and the reduction of this sope would require extensive earth work and in all liklihood a cut along much of the roadbed on the order of 15 feet. None of this is shown. Alternatively a route down the eastern edge of this park shows the steepest section to drop approximately 40 feet in a distance of about 300 feet or approximately a 13% slope. This is certainly no worse than what is proposed and it locates the roadway in a region such that the impact on the park would be minimal. It would undoubtedly be desirable to reduce even this maximum slope by performing some earth work to distribute the rise more evenly. Since the area is slightly more constrained than that proposed, the slopes at the shoulders and cuts would be somewhat steeper and perhaps a little more expensive to stabalize. From this plan shown, it does not appear that the route shown cutting through the entire park offers anything more than a somewhat lower construc- tion cost when contrasted with a route along the eastern side. This small difference in cost, which should in any case be totally paid by the VA, does not appear to justify the virtually complete obliteration of a park with this unique character and location. MOTION: Emerson/York PRAB does not recommend to support the Veterans Administration Hospital access road running through Gregory Park. (Refer to the discussion above) Motion passed 6-0. ( FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT P. 0. DRAWER F 72702 (501) 521-7700 PRAB PARK TOUR PART II May 6, 1985 Present: Dale Clark, Rodney Ryan, J.0. York, Charlie Sego, Guest: Harold Moore GREATHOUSE PARK David Lashley, Beverly Melton, Bill Waite, Chuck Yarbrough, Connie Edmonston - Climbing apparatus and concrete picnic table will be added in 1986. Move the playground equipment into one area. (Preferably relocate the slide and move the swing set down by the slide area, merry-go- round, and the climbing apparatus.) - Swinging bridge needs some minor repair along attachment area. WALKER PARK NORTH the cable handrail/fence Facilities to be added in 1986: softball backstop, combination soccer/football goal, 1 swinging park bench, 32 foot redwood pavilion, redwood tot playground apparatus, and the addition of two regulation size soccer fields. - Drain needs to be channeled east/west. - Cover the man -hole with astroturf so the area can be used for soccer fields. - Need more trees in the play and picnic areas. - Between the parking lot post entryway, plant a flower/shrub - Parking lot gates and posts need to be repaired. Basketball goals are too high. One goal is leaning. - The temporary fence along the uncurbed area needs repaired. INDUSTRIAL PARK - Concession stand wood counter needs repaired. - Need to replace wood bleachers with the steel Water fountain stand needs repaired. - Area needs mowing. and trimming. HAPPY HOLLOW PARK MEETING ADJOURNED: 6:40 pm NEXT PRAB MEETING: Monday, May bleachers. 20th at 4pm, City Hall. Respectfully submitted, c Connie Edmon- on Administrative Assistant garden