Residents review
two plans during an open house; comments will be reviewed by the community
advisory council
 |
|
Project planner Adam Arvidson
chats with a neighborhood resident during the open house held on Thursday, Aug.
14, 2014. Residents were able to give their input on the plan in a variety of
ways, including rating what was most important to them. (Photo by Tesha M.
Christensen)
|
by Tesha M. Christensen
Changes are coming to Lake Hiawatha and Nokomis parks, and
residents got a chance to comment on the proposals during an open house on
Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014.
How much of the shoreline should be natural versus turf?
Where should a skate park be? How can bikers and walkers cross Cedar Ave. more
safely?
Should the athletic fields be fashioned like a pinwheel with
a restroom and concessions area in the center? What should be included in a
recreation center expansion? Should a new bath house/event center be built with
a restaurant inside?
Could Minnehaha creek be rerouted so that it no longer flows
into Lake Hiawatha? How can the water quality be improved at both lakes?
These are some of the questions being addressed in the new
25-year master plan being created for the Nokomis-Hiawatha regional park area.
Due to funding restrictions, Hiawatha Golf Course is not part of the plan.
The community advisory council will meet twice more to review
the plan and make recommendations. These will then be forwarded to the Park
Board for approval later this fall. Once that is done, it will go before the
Met Council, which has helped fund the planning process.
Work on Triangle Park will take place in 2015, and some trail
improvements will be done in 2016. Cost on these is $400,000. No timeline has
been created for the rest of the proposals, and no funding has been designated
for them. When the plan is complete, the components will be prioritized.
 |
|
How natural do residents want the park to be? That’s one of
the major questions being asked in this planning process. There are two options
for the shoreland. The first is a campus style with a manicured lawn that has
natural areas within it. This is what most of the city parks currently have.
The second option is to have more of a natural area with turf cut in, more like
how state parks are set up.
(Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
|
NATURAL
AREAS VERSUS MANICURED LAWN
How natural do residents want the shoreline to be? That’s one
of the main questions being asked as this plan is developed.
“When you look at the park, it suggests that managed turf
isn’t what all the areas want to be,” pointed out Adam Arvidson, project
manager. “Even when it isn’t flooding, there are areas that are vey tough to
manage.”
There are two options for the shoreland. The first is a
campus style with a manicured lawn that has natural areas within it. This is
what most of the city parks currently have. The second option is to have more
of a natural area with turf cut in, more like how state parks are set up.
Arvidson pointed out that the Park Board will also be soon be
creating an Ecological Systems Plan that will look at the whole parks system.
More natural areas will lead to better water quality as the
water will be treated before it enters the lakes. Right now, all the city’s
stormwater runs directly into its lakes, rivers and streams, and most of it is
untreated when it hits those bodies of water, Arvidson observed.
Water quality has been an issue that folks have brought up
throughout the planning process.
There are currently some ponds on the south end of Lake
Nokomis that help clean the water before it enters that lake. Also, rain
gardens and natural plantings have been added in the past few years near the
golf course at Lake Hiawatha.
Parks Commissioner Steffanie Musich pointed out that
attitudes about natural versus manicured have been changing.
“They think of it as adding, not subtracting, to the park
experience,” observed Musich.
Local resident Monica McNaughton isn’t against adding more
natural areas, but she is concerned about how it is done. She pointed out that
the current plan places manicured areas in the shade and natural areas in the
sun. “I know the area on the south side of the lake is used for pick-up games
such as kickball, soccer and frisbee,” she pointed out. “There needs to be
space to run and play where there aren’t any trees.”
She isn’t confident that the Park Board can maintain natural
areas well, and expressed concern about how the natural areas near the lagoon
has been cared for.
If there is a switch to more natural areas within the park,
it will be done gradually, said Arvidson. It will require training for staff
members on how to care for the natural areas.
ATHLETIC
FIELDS
There are two very different concepts that have been proposed
for the athletic fields.
One would position four ball fields in a pinwheel formation
with a concession stand and restrooms in the center. Another two ball fields
would be to the south, partially overlapping with two soccer fields.
While that is more efficient, it would cut into the use of
the fields for games like ultimate frisbee and rugby.
The second plan would have four overlapping ball fields with
two soccer fields, another ball field to the south, and open space.
Both plans would add a new parking lot near the ballfields.
MAIN
BEACH AREA
Should there be an event center at Lake Nokomis? One plan for
the area replaces the existing bathhouse with a large event center, one that
would have a restaurant, rental space and bathhouse space on the lower level
and the event space on the upper level.
The second plan merely calls for renovating the existing
space.
Both plans reconfigure the parking lot. One plan expands the
beach, while the other carves out a space on the north side for a canoe and
kayak launch.
 |
|
Parks commissioner Steffanie Musich
chats with Paul Forsline of City of Skate about the skate park in the 25-year
park plan proposal. He favors placing it next to the recreation center versus
near the bathhouse in order to take advantage of the Minneapolis skyline and
Nokomis lake views. He pointed out that it is likely many photos and videos
will be shot at this skate park. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
|
SKATE
PARK
A skate park is in both of the proposed options for the new
master plan, but it is in two different locations. In one, space would be on
the south side of the main beach area. In the other plan, it would occupy the
space to the west of the recreation center.
In both, the space would be concrete rather than using the
modular design of the past.
Paul Forsline of City Of Skate favors the area by the rec
center. It offers nice views of both the downtown skyline and Nokomis Lake.
“The skate park can be entertaining for the general public and not just
skaters,” he said.
Forsline pointed out that skateboarding appeals to people who
aren’t interested in organized sports. It doesn’t require coaches and paying
for ice time. “It’s an equity sport,” he said.
RECREATION
CENTER
Possible changes at the recreation center include expanded
programming and a renovation that would create a double gym with a running
track.
Other options are an outdoor performance space and an
enhanced plaza.
The small beach on the east side will also be expanded, and
restrooms added near the event space where the Monarch Festival is held each
September. There are a few possible configurations for that event space.
CEDAR
AVE. CROSSINGS
How pedestrians and bikers can cross Cedar Ave. more safely
has been an area of concern throughout the planning process.
A long-term option is to add a tunnel for bikers and walkers
under Cedar Ave. on the south side.
At the open house on Aug. 14, Minneapolis Public Works
employee Don Elwood was also present to ask for input on how to improve the
safety of the Cedar/Edgewater/Nokomis Parkway intersection. “Every solution has
an impact, so it’s understanding what those are,” he observed.
Musich pointed out that there is a plan to add a biking trail
along the north side of Minnehaha in order to accommodate the bicycle
commuters. With that, the bicycle trail near the rec center would be modified
so that the crossing is not right next to Minnehaha, but instead south near
Lake Nokomis Parkway. Other changes being proposed would address
bike/pedestrian conflicts on trails.
LAKE
HIAWATHA
Plans are to develop a full biking and walking loop around
the lake and the outskirts of the golf course. There will also be a seasonal
trail that runs around the entire lake that will be open in the winter to
walkers and skiers. The trail can’t be open in the summer due to safety
concerns about golf balls, noted Arvidson. There will be gates on either side
that will open in the winter.
Published in the September 2014 Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.
Published in the September 2014 Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.
No comments:
Post a Comment