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By Eileen Abbattista
We human beings are occupiers of
this stretch of the Earth’s crust where we have taken up residency, insisting
on dominion.
 Thus, is it hubris or stewardship animating the year-long effort
to draft a contemporary advisory “master plan” for Washington Park, the first
such endeavor since landscape architect Reinhard Schuetze laid out its original
environs as a “grand civic space” in 1899? Anyone present for the well-attended
Nov. 18 final public comment meeting on the draft plan will attest to the
latter inclination. A bedrock and nuanced sense of place and deep abiding care
for the park’s 165 acres suffused all public commentary and concerns.
A number of realities are
directing the current planning, all a variation on the consensus, “The park is
being loved to death – every square inch gets used on busy days!” The 2010
draft was built on the foundation of 2003’s Washington Park Cultural
Landscape Assessment and Preservation Plan (CLA), which framed an outline
for a thoughtful preservation
plan. (West Wash Park Neighborhood Association has the plan archived: www.wwpna.org/general/wash-parks-cultural-landscape-preservation-plan.)
From this CLA framework, the current draft plan defines the park in three ways:
areas of Preservation/Restoration; areas of Rehabilitation; and areas of
Flexibility (see map on pg. 14).
“Rehabilitation” areas
certainly include parts of Washington Park’s original historic plan, but have
room for adaptation and change with an eye toward increasing the use of longer
native grasses and shrubs less appealing than bluegrass to the park’s Canada
geese inhabitants, and creating lake wetland edges to help naturalize and
provide broader access to Smith and Grasmere lakes (see rendering on pg. 33).
Among the most visible
changes proposed for Smith Lake on the park’s north end, are: restoring the
lake edges by removing the rock/mesh gabions and reconstructing the edges;
relocating existing parking away from the lake’s edge to allow unobstructed
walkways; reconstructing the lake’s perimeter to create both a pedestrian
promenade and a narrower, lakeside path; and developing docks to support
nonmotorized boating and provide specific launch areas for canoes and kayaks.
A
totally soft-surface trail is the latest thinking for the perimeter of Grasmere
Lake at the park’s south end, more in keeping, the city believes, with its
historic design. Meeting-goers questioned the wisdom of this, noting
the current soft surface areas already make this walk impassable during snowy
and icy seasons; a totally unplowed soft trail would greatly diminish its usage
potential except for the most sure-footed pedestrians.
While appealing
conceptually, the “native grass” approach had lots of people shaking their
heads at the Nov. 18 meeting, particularly as city spokespeople verbally
quantified these areas as approximately 10 percent of the total park area
– but illustrative maps shaded these potential native grass/shrub strips
in closer to 20 percent of the park.
Concerns included the
untried reality of replacing this much turf with vegetation unsuitable for
sitting, walking or playing, thus shrinking the park’s already overburdened
usable space; the true effort required to establish native grasses given water
and maintenance limitations and threats from invasive weeds; and the aesthetics
of a naturalized landscape in this percentage of the park. “Why,” said Downing
St. neighbor Kevin McCorry, “have we not been furnished with photos that show
what the foliage and grasses look like year round, season by season?”
The draft plan proposes
little change to auto access – although it does focus on significant
improvement for pedestrian/bike intersections such as Downing & Virginia
and Downing & Exposition – but eliminates some parking, especially adjacent
to Smith Lake, reallocates parking east of the rec center and sees increased
reliance on the South High lot at Louisiana & Franklin and a concurrent
emphasis on creating a much improved “South Portal” entrance, directing more
activities to this less-used park quadrant.
For the park perimeter
loop road, no circulation changes are proposed, instead managing the inherent
conflicts between pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles with consistency and
improvement in signage and pavement markings.
Wash Park East neighbor
Neil Goodenough had another proposal: “People blame the bicyclists, but I think
it is the weekend pedestrians that cause most of the conflicts. They don’t stay
on their side of the roadway. A drawing done by a FANS member, Frank
Miltenberger, had a low, marked median dividing the walkers from the wheeled
traffic that would be more effective than simple markings. Further, improvement
of the internal pathways (proposed as part of a return to the park’s early
established paths; jogging paths may also be realigned in some places) will
encourage walkers to use them rather than the roadways.”
Playground areas near the
lakes will see a change in priority and design – with the south play area
shifting to prominence, taking some pressure off Smith Lake and allowing easier
access for users via the diagonal road and taking advantage of picnic areas and
nearby restrooms. The new playground location will emphasize options for
teenagers and young adults, whose interests are currently underserved by park
facilities.
Stakeholders in the draft master plan process
tackled this bunch of complexities and many others starting November 2009, with
input from city departments (notably Parks & Recreation); Wenk Associates
(consultants); and a varied cadre of citizenry including representatives from
park users (volleyball, lawn bowling/croquet, tennis, Bike Denver, The Park
People, etc.) and neighborhood groups such as East and West Washington Park
neighborhood associations. Taking a major articulate leadership role has been
Friends and Neighbors of Washington Park (FANSWashingtonPark.org),
a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization whose members have been committed to
acting as “stewards of the park for the enjoyment of today’s visitors and
future generations” since 2006.
THE SMITH LAKE PERIMETER WALK IN WASHINGTON PARK is among the most popular amenities. A promenade, wetland transition, and lakeside boardwalk may be future options. Photo: Wenk Assoc.
While the FANS board
believes many goals it outlined early on were addressed in a satisfactory way,
it is reserving its endorsement of the draft plan pending the outcome of
several aspects which, based on continued public concerns, remain concerns for
the group. They are:
• “The proper role of
concessionaires and vendors in the park” – this remains a hot-button
topic throughout the city’s parks system, going to the heart of the meaning of
a “public” park, and as Parks & Rec project manager for the draft plan Britta
Herwig notes, “finding a balance between many types of users.”
• “The means of assuring
public input during the process of design and implementation of capital
improvements in all areas of the park as well as in making changes to policies
that govern parks activities”; and
• “The extent and
character of park areas proposed for conversion from turf to native grasses.”
In other words, FANS is determined to continue its advocacy for Washington Park
now and well into the future, refusing to be befuddled or daunted by the scope
of its needs and the diplomacy required for continued meaningful public
involvement.
Next stop for the final
draft master plan: presentation to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board,
followed by City Council’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure
committee, before landing on the desk of the director of Parks & Rec for
signature. (As the Profile went to press, DPR announced Jan. 6 that
former Deputy Manager Scott Robson will be the new Manager of Parks & Rec
and Chantal Unfug new Deputy Manager of Parks, Planning and Natural Resources.
Manager Kevin Patterson will transition to Governor Hickenlooper’s office to
serve as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Administrative Officer.)
See a copy of the
Washington Park draft master plan: denvergov.org/parksandrecreation/Home/NewsReleases/Announcements/tabid/435938/newsid476581/4279/Washington-Park-Master-Plan---Final-Public-Meeting/Default.aspx.
FANS Frank Miltenberger,
who along with Cindy Johnstone attended all meetings of the stakeholder
planning process, is sanguine but realistic about the future of this advisory
plan: “All in all it was a successful productive process. Over time, though,
much of the plan and report will become diluted and distracted with new park
issues and the involvement of different people and city staff. We can only hope
that perhaps a few of the priority items will actually be implemented. We will
need new community pressure to prioritize some of the improvements that involve
safety and health issues.” |
