City Park Alliance

The City Park Alliance is Hosting a Public Forum on the Presentation of the Off-Leash Dog Park in City Park Proposed by Denver Parks & Recreation – Tuesday, February 9th, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Leprino Family Atrium, Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Denver Department of Parks and Recreation will be presenting its proposed draft plan for the development of a Dog Park Master Plan and Policy Recommendations for Denver Parks. Public input on the draft recommendations will occur on the following dates:

January 30, 2010 at Cook Park Recreation Center 7100 Cherry Creek Drive South from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

February 9, 2010 at Leprino Family Atrium, Denver Museum of Nature and Science from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Read the dog park master plan here: www.denvergov.org/parksandrec

Public feedback will be taken into consideration in creating the final recommendations. A copy of the public meeting materials and ability to comment will be available after January 16th at the Denver Parks and Recreation website www.denvergov.org/parksandrec.

In addition City Park Alliance will forward all comments posted on our website.  There is additional detail in our previous post on dog parks, so scroll down for more information.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS! READ THE DRAFT CIRCULATION PLAN.

If you have ever thought entering or driving through City Park was frustrating, you are not alone!  Entrances are often stumbled upon after circling the park a number of times, gates to roads may have been closed on certain days and after certain times, and one ways around roundabouts can be confusing for anyone.  With more and more events and recreational activities held in the park, bikes, pedestrians need a solid circulation plan that moves visitors in and through the park safely.

Neighbors who remember heavy cut-through traffic and parked cars lined up through the Park a decade ago do not want to relive past problems.  A balance is needed, and every ten years or so, City Park administrators revisit the circulation plan to see if it still makes sense for all users of the park.

On October 14^th, City Park Project Manager Britta Herwig and urban planner consultant Jesse Clark held their second community feedback session on the update to the 10-year Master Plan in City Park to improve circulation.  Two City Park Alliance board members attended and this is what we learned. 

 The stated goals of the proposed Circulation Plan are to:  1) Maintain the park’ historic character, while meeting today’s needs; 2) Manage City Park cohesively as a whole; 3) Create a clean circulation system with a hierarchy of trails, roads, and walks; 4) Ensure safety of users; 5) Manage routes to enhance experience and enjoyment while avoiding conflicts of modes; and 6) Insure and enhance flexibility for events and gatherings while providing suitable separation between them. 

 Highlights of the Proposed Circulation Plan

• Re-establish a parkway for car traffic that will re-connect the east and west sides of the park, without promoting cut-through traffic.  The main entrances for car traffic will be where the monumental gate is now on York and 20^th Street, which is now a one-way exit from the park.  The east entrances will be on Colorado and Montview and 23^rd through the Zoo parking lot.  Pavers or cobblestones and narrow passageways will curb cut-through traffic.  (See Vehicular Circulation Map)
• West Meadow Loop – will be a one-way continuous loop, which will help with the confusing roundabouts around the Thatcher Fountain and the Martin Luther King statue. (See Vehicular Circulation Map)
• Parking counts will stay roughly the same with approximately 700 parking spaces along the parkway, loop, and side roads.  To put this number in perspective, this compares to 360 parking spots in Cheeseman Park and 305 in Washington Park.
• Designated bike lanes will be six-feet wide and will be allocated along the parkway, loop and throughout the park.  The circulation plan aims to define new norms for bike riders, with 23^rd becoming the new regional trail.  (See Section 1 and 2 of the plan)
• Create a Pedestrian Promenade from the east to west sides of the park on the south side of Ferril Lake.  The Promenade will be lined with benches and will connect four distinct walking loops throughout the park.  The 5K Mile High Loop will stay intact for runners and pedestrians and will meander throughout the park.  (See the Pedestrian Connection and Loops and Section 5 of the plan) 

The planning process will continue through the end of the year with prioritizing the plan.  However, now is the time to share your thoughts on the the proposal.   Comment on our website or contact Britta Herwig, City Park Administrator, Department of Parks & Recreation.

While the City Park Alliance has not taken a formal position on this proposed plan, we are pleased to be involved in the discussion.  We value your input in continuing to make City Park everyone’s favorite park to visit and to return often.

Denver Parks & Recreation will host a second public meeting to present the proposal for the City Park Circulation Plan Update. Input from park users was gathered during the summer of 2009 and a professional team of consultants studies existing patterns to determine what improvements could be made.  This is your opportunity to weigh in on the plan!

View the mapped plan by clicking here.

The meeting will be on Wednesday, October 14th from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at the Denver Zoo Norgren Hall at the Gates Education Center.

If you have questions please contact City Park Administrator Britta Herwig at 720.913.0614 or
britta.herwig@denvergov.org

Over the last year Denver Parks & Rec, with support from community members, has been conducting a Dog Park Master Planning & Policy Recommendation Process.  The overall goals and objectives of this effort are intended to foster healthy relationships between dog owners, non-dog owners, and all park users.  Improving Denver’s parks and open spaces to support and accommodate all users in a healthy, sustainable environment is important.  The process is on-going and no final recommendations have been published at this time.  However, a recent poll conducting by Councilwoman Carla Madison regarding how residents might feel about a dog park at City Park have led to some questions, which are hopefully answered below.  As a note, no formal plans exist related to a dog park in City Park at this time.
 
The master planning process to date has included thorough analysis and evaluation of Denver’s existing dog parks in addition to significant investigation of local and national best practices to help guide the internal and external committees in making recommendations for Denver. 

Needs identified by the committees indicate:
 1) Priority in bringing Denver’s existing dog parks up to a more sustainable level of service and include amenities such as benches, water, and shade.
2) Significant gaps in dog park service area from roughly Colfax Ave. south down to Hampden Ave. and from roughly the east side of the I-25 corridor east to Quebec St.  (Both internal and external committees recommended and agreed to Denver’s regional, fenced dog parks serving a roughly 2-mile radius area.) 
3) Committee DRAFT recommended parks to be considered for 1 or 2 additional regional fenced dog parks to fill the gap areas in service include:
                                          i.    Garland Park
                                         ii.    Cook Park
                                        iii.    Harvard Gulch Park / Rosedale
                                        iv.    Veterans Park
4) Recommendation to consider off-leash hours / off-leash dog sites to fill any remaining gap areas of service, particularly in higher density neighborhoods.  However, policies on how these areas would work need further development prior to discussing potential locations and sites.  Policy items pertaining to off-leash hours / off-leash dog sites being discussed by committee include:
Entrance and Useage of Off-Leash Areas
Fee for Useage
Off-Leash Hours and Timing
Fines
Liability
 
The planning process is expected to recommend some draft policies and plans for public input this Fall 2009.  
 
If you have any specific questions or concerns or would like to submit any suggestions, or if you would like to submit your interest in being involved with future partnership opportunities, please send an email to DenverDog@DenverGov.org.  Denver Dog will continue to send periodic updates on upcoming events and the Dog Park Master Plan webpage will have additional information about the Dog Park Master Plan process.  http://www.denvergov.org/parks/DenverDogParksMasterPlan/

The Department of Parks and Rec is undertaking a circulation study to better understand how park users enter and exit the park, and what areas of the park are most active during which times of the day.  Look for City Park Alliance volunteers throughout the park to participate in the coming weeks, and check www.cityparkalliance.org often for updates and information.

Questions? Post your thoughts or questions here and we’ll get back to you.