20/20 Vision: The Role of Park Visioning

in Shaping the Future

of Your Greenspace

Parks & Greenspace Conference

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Monday, March 23, 2015

Agenda

• Walt Ray, RLA, ASLA Moderator

•Barbara Marin Friends of Springbrook Park•Byron Amos Friends of Vine City Park •Mandy LeCompte Friends of Little Nancy Creek Park

State of Atlanta Parks• Atlanta ranked 42 out of 60 cities

(Trust for Public Land Parkscore) • Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Phoenix rank higher.

•The Stats

Minneapolis AtlantaSpending per Resident: $213 Spending per Resident: $81

Park Budget: $90 Million Park Budget: $35 Million

Residents Living within Ten Minutes Walk to a Park: 92%

Residents Living within Ten Minutes Walk to a Park: 60%

Parkland: 14.9 % (planning goal is 10%) Parkland: 5.8% (planning goal is 10%)

State of Atlanta Parks

• The Hard Facts

• Over 300 parks • Total Budget- $35 Million for the whole park

system• Piedmont Park Conservancy’s Budget is $3

Million• Limited Budgets• Limited Staff• Limited Capacity• Parks need Community Support

• Capital Improvements• Programming• Maintenance

Park Visioning• Community Supported Master Plan for Greenspace

• Community as Client• Neighbors are Experts• Staff are Facilitators and Interpreters• Strong Reliance on Public Input• Community will Own Master Plan

• Process is Flexible• Every Community is Different• Process & Plans Reflect Unique

Character• Process is Successful

• 31 Completed Visioning Plans • Over $13 Million Invested • Engaged Communities

Visioning Process• Application Process

• Committed Steering Committee (The Client)•Attend Monthly Organizational Meetings•Represent Constituency (Neighborhood Surveys)•Organized Park Group •Public Meetings•NPU Coordination•Neighborhood Association Coordination

• Public Engagement Process•Stakeholder Surveys•Public Meetings•Spread the Word

Visioning Process

Advantages to Community• Public Involvement - Critical and Useful

• Coordination with StakeholdersParks DepartmentDepartment of Watershed ManagementSchoolsNeighborhood AssociationNeighborhood Planning Unit

• Community-BuildingSteering CommitteeFriends of the Park GroupImplementation Committee

• Conceptual Master Plan• What Goes Where

• How Much Might Cost

• Collaborative Process

• Utilizing Free Services

• Facilitate Fundraising

• Prioritize Improvements

• Create/Strengthen Partnerships

Benefits of Visioning

Community Grows a Park and

the Park Grows Community

Timeline

5/2011 .9 acre neighborhood lot identified

12/2012 Property purchased

3/2013 Visioning

12/2013 PP Grant received $39K

7/2014 Permit received

10/2014 Contractor completes construction

1/2015

Ongoing

Ribbon cutting

Play area, Community garden

Design ProcessMore to Less Community Input

• Visioning (neighborhood adults and kids)• Conceptual Maps• Grant Proposal/Budget• Permit Documents• Bidding Process--Contractors Input• County Permitting Process• Construction Realities• Ongoing Improvements/Additions

Community Engagement

• Meet neighbors and discover assets

• Friends meetings identify issues

• Build e-mail list to keep neighbors informed

• Inform neighborhood organizations

• Visioning info sheet to 400 families gets everyone on the same page

Info Sheet

• Children’s visioning should include play expert

• 15 neighbors at adult visioning meetings

Community Engagement

Conceptual Maps

Map changed when landscape designer joined neighborhood and project

Community Engagement (cont’d)

• Wayfinders keep neighbors informed about plans

• Board of involved neighbors includes two Scout leaders

• Neighbors’ talents utilized (website; logo; gardening/composting, etc.)

• Fund/friend-raising events (festivals, wine-tasting, silent auction)

• Celebrations to mark progress

Community Engagement (cont’d)

• Website, Facebook, Newsletters, E-mail

• Nextdoor.com

• VolunteerWorkdays

• Springbrook Park Neighborhood

Community Engagement (cont’d)

Before & After

Before

Consensus Building• Provide lots of information

• Provide opportunities for input (visioning, email, conversations)

• Personally talk to those adjacent to park

• Use committees (play, comm. garden)

• Ask trusted people to review plans and changes (Friends Board, County, PP)

• Complex issues addressed by carefully selected people

Contact Information

• Barbara Marin

• Email: barbaramarin49@att.net

• Phone: 404-580-0269

• Park Website: www.springbrookpark.com

• Silent Auction – May 9, 2015 7-9pm

• www.springfortheparks.org

The New Vine City Neighborhood Park

Presented By: Byron Amos

Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

Governor's

Greenspace

Program

A “SIGN” OF THINGS TO COME

IN THE BEGINNING

THE KUDZU MONSTER

HAS ANYONE SEEN MY HOUSE???

HELP ME, I’VE FALLEN & I CAN’T GET UP

PEEK-A-BOO, I SEE YOU

“IT FEELS GOOD TO HAVE A FRESH HAIR CUT”

NOW YOU SEE IT……

NOW YOU DON’T

Option A

Option B

VCCA Development Committee Approved/ with some design concepts

from Option B

before

Vine City

Neighborhood Park

on Magnolia Street

after

Little Nancy Creek ParkPark Visioning Process

Our neighborhood needs a playground but can’t find a location

North BuckheadNeighborhood

We ask the City to consider acquiring three abandoned lots…

…with great potential for something other than yet another subdivision.

August 2007, we get our wish! The City purchases the 5 acre lot…now what??

Park Pride to the Rescue!

$25,000 Visioning GrantOpportunity Seized

…and a partnership is formed.

Great parks start with an engaged community

We held four public meetingsThe second meeting was a design workshop

and invited the community to explore the possibilities of their new park

Neighbor feedback varied….

But ultimately proved useful

Finally, we had a Conceptual Vision in May 2009!

LittLe NaNcy creek ParkConCeptual Vision

May 12, 2009

And now the hard part…turning the vision into reality

Day 1 (of the next six years)

Park Pride connects us with corporate volunteer groups

A community garden is built with neighbors and corporate volunteers

Volunteer days are the foundation of successful park building

So many neighbors donate their sweat equity…

Local builder Delaney Rossetti Construction installs safe bridge rails

which becomes the inspiration for our logo

Park Pride’s Picnic in the Parks brings more neighbors into the park

Russell Landscape Group, owned by a neighbor, seeds and maintains

front entry

Neighbor Stephen Fristoe, Eagle Scout candidate, builds park benches

Sarah Smith Elementary School installs a Butterfly Garden

A third grade Wolf Scout Den transforms this…

into a magical Children’s Cottage!

Integrated Land Design creates our Master Plan

Installing a playground is a dynamic challenging, multi-year process

The ground breaking brings us one step closer…

Opening Day - April 2012! The kids’ joy is worth all the blood, sweat & tears

The City celebrates our long-awaited accomplishment with us!

Fast forward to 2015…the parking lot is still full with families enjoying our

world-class playground

CHOA’s Strong4Life and United Healthcare partner with LNCP to install

a walking trail

Walking Trail and Fitness Area

Community Garden

Ongoing Park Pride Partnership of Community Work Days

Engraved bricks, a simple and effective fundraiser, add a personal touch to the

playground entrance path

A chance to reconnect with nature…

Play with friends…

and explore your extended backyard.

You never know whoooo you’ll meet!

Little Nancy Creek Park – What’s Next?

littlenancycreekpark.org