It’s time to figure out what Fayetteville needs most in terms of outdoor parks, and as usual, city officials are looking for input from residents. If you’ve got any suggestions, here’s your chance to speak up.
The Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department will hold a public meeting at the Lake Fayetteville boat dock office at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17.
The purpose of the meeting is to identify potential needs and priorities for 2011. The department is open to pretty much any kind of suggestion. “Whether it’s suggesting more ADA accessibility or simply requesting more trails, as long as it’s an outdoor parks and recreation need, we’ll consider it,” said parks planner Carole Jones.
Following the identification process, city officials will select priorities to be submitted to the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism for a matching grant application.
Ethnic minorities, persons with special needs, elderly persons over 55, youth and special interest groups are encouraged to attend and participate.
The Lake Fayetteville boat dock office is located at 1330 E. Lake Fayetteville Road.
If you can’t make the meeting, you can call the department at 479-444-3471. Written comments may be submitted to Fayetteville Parks and Recreation, 113 West Mountain, Fayetteville, AR 72701 or parks_and_recreation@ci.fayetteville.ar.us.
2011 Parks and Rec Needs and Priorities meeting
Date: Thursday, June 17
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Lake Fayetteville boat dock office, 1330 E. Lake Fayetteville Road
More Tennis Courts!
This has been an issue since I came to Fayetteville 7 years ago. It’s ridiculous. Any semi-active tennis player would agree that there is a severe shortage of courts in Fayetteville.
And quit letting the university clubs reserve the precious ones we have while the actual university courts go practically unused.
How could I not second that.
Hear Hear! The only good courts I know of are at Wilson Park and they are always full.
Fayetteville is a pretty dog-friendly place, so it’s kind of unfathomable that we don’t have a dedicated dog park. It needs to have wide-open spaces and a variety of features (especially a water component).
A quality dog park would quickly become Fayetteville’s “most used” city park. If the Parks department is looking for ways to add value and encourage usage of Fayetteville parks, a dog park will get this done. When done properly, dog parks do not create a waste issue – with available poop bag stations, regulars of the dog park (and there will be A LOT) will ensure visitors do their part to Scoop The Poop.
Lights at the skatepark. As I understand it, they were in the original plan, but were not installed for some reason. There are covered utility spots at each corner, I assume they are already wired. It is too hot to skate in the daytime, and every city I have been to with a lighted park always draws a good crowd. I have driven all the way to Bentonville to skate their park because it is lighted. Same with Prairie Grove, which is not otherwise worth the drive. We even drove all the way to Louisville, KY, to skate their 24-hour lit park (Okay, it was on the way somewhere else, but still…).
Lights, Please!
Seems like a part of Gordon Long Park would be ideal for a dog park. Its a really big area, and very centrally located. There are not really any developed uses there.
Walker park has lit tennis courts that are perpetually open. They have the newest surface of any tennis courts in fayetteville.
There’s a dog park under construction now. Here’s a bit of news from last summer and here’s some info from the city’s website.
There are lighted, rarely used tennis courts at Walker Park, and a heavily used, but unlighted skatepark. Tennis fans need to find those courts (I have never seen anyone play there), and we need lights at the concrete park.
I didn’t know they existed at Walker Park; thanks for the info!
it would be nice if the city would work with neighboring cities, johnson, springdale, etc., to help network the trails system further or even create more avenues for access where sidewalks and bike paths don’t currently exist. I would love to bike to work via the trails, but it is way too dangerous riding the two miles to get over to the trails.
@Mark – Good suggestions. I was at the skatepark this morning and you’re right about the utility boxes in the ground. I wonder if it’s wired and just needs funding for lights or if that’s even planned any time soon at all? What do you think of the skatepark other than that?
How about a community garden park. The gulf oil gyser isn’t going to be fixed this year folks. There’s very likely to be a real prolonged crisis by this time next year if rainfall carries the dispersant chemical contamination this far inland. We’re going to need greenhouses and hoophouses with water hook-ups and filtering capabilities. http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593/648967
Less sexual predators at Veteran’s Park please
YOU–
Sexual predators need fresh air, too.
There are sexual predators at Veterans Park? Are they hot?
Lots of local parks and businesses are listed on gay cruising sites. They’re not predators, they’re there to hook-up (as in gay anonymous sex) and evidently – YOU must fit the type and/or cruise behavior.
At the bottom of this link are several sites that will direct you to cruising info sites, many have critiques on Fayetteville’s hotspots. Tip to the homophobic male, if you’re at Barnes and Noble and have to pee – hold it and go across the street at Hooters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruising_for_sex
An informative youtube video on the mysteries of cruising. Educate yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Ampu8jxP8
burgerboy–
It’s getting to be that time of year when everybody at a park is hot.
@Todd:
It’s hard not to be happy to have a free concrete park, but there are some things that could have been done differently. The city went with a park designer (Purkiss-Rose) whose sale pitched bragged about being the biggest park designer in the country with the most parks under their belt. That was partly true, because they are famous now for having the most crappy park designs. They charged Fayetteville something like $75,000 for that park design, which is not good at all. The contractors where general contractors from Nebraska, and they did a pretty good job on the build, but there is only so much you can polish a turd.
Around the same time that Fayetteville built a park, North Little Rock and Eureka Springs built parks, but the difference is that they did their research and hired the best builder they could find(Dreamland Skateparks) Dreamland does design/build, the bid is for the build. There is not a separate charge for the design. Fayetteville could have built a way better park with a lower cost per square foot had they gone with Dreamland or another reputable design/build firm.
As it stand now, I am more likely to drive to Eureka Springs to skate their park than I am to head down to Walker Park. One part of Eureka that is way more pleasant than Fayetteville is that their little park is shaded. You can skate it in the daytime. Walker park is in full sun, and it is a bit like a solar oven. That is why lights would make the park much more usable. Summer sessions under the lights are the best. If only we could do that here at home.
And about the utility boxes… I heard years ago from someone at park and rec that lights had been donated and were in storage because the city decided not to install them. I think the reason was they thought lights would attract graffiti and crime. I am still trying to figure out that logic. Maybe moths are the criminals responsible for graffiti.
I’ve played the Walker courts many times in the past..nets and court condition are beyond decent. However, I didn’t notice the lights or how you would turn them on. Where is the switch?
@Mark – I’ve put in an inquiry with the city about the absence of lights at the skatepark. I’ll let everyone know what I come up with soon. It certainly couldn’t hurt, however, if some people showed up at tonight’s Parks & Rec meeting to request lighting at the skatepark. That’s what those meetings are for.
What did the people of North East Fayetteville (and all of East Springdale) do to have no public tennis courts whatsoever? I play at Wilson Park Tennis quite often and other than replacing the completely destroyed nets (held together for two years with Walmart bags,duct tape etc) a few years ago I have never have seen a parks worker set foot on the courts to pick up leaves, trash,fix the gaping fence bottoms. Many of the people I play with have made requests to the Parks and Rec. Department over the years with one consistent result. They don’t budge an inch to citizen requests. I think the only thing that department does at Wilson Tennis Courts is give them away to anyone who can work a bureaucracy. In Spring they gave a private U of A group prime hours at night twice a week. Anyone should be able to get in line and play. Many of the students in that club from other cities, states and even countries shouldn’t have had permission to tell local residents that they had to yield the courts to them.
Regarding Walker Park, faced with an already long drive from the north, I don’t make the extra drive there in a crowded times (like nights in the summer) because: 1) There are only two courts, so the chances are better at Wilson where there are six. 2) The semi trucks and traffic whizzing by so close make it less appealing. There are just far,far too few courts for this area. There used to be 2 courts for students at the U of A, now none. Only courts for the team. There are great locations and space at Gulley Park and Fayetteville Lake.Maybe some private individuals would donate them and they could be named for them. The City might say it doesn’t have the money to build new courts but regardless of that there are some extremely inexpensive things that could be done in one day that would be significant.
1. At Wilson, put even just one light each on the existing two end light poles to light the two unlit courts. Last weekend (without any posted prior notice) a Parks and Rec. official came and told a completely full Wilson Tennis Courts public that the lights would be shut off because they disturbed the movie being shown at the pool. I thought they should have set up the screen on the other side and left the lights on but what was amazing was that people on all 4 courts continued to play for quite a while after all the lights were turned off. The only light was a street light. That’s why I know that even a few extra spotlights on the 2 unlit courts would be well used and very cheap to do.
2. Raise the backboard at Wilson a few feet or just add some fencing at the top. It’s too low and will quickly discourage a beginner. A backboard is a great way to practice alone as well as meet new partners. There are currently 2 holes right in the center of both backboards. If money is the problem just send 2 workers with power screwdrivers out and rotate the ones with holes to the outside. It doesn’t take all new wood. People try to hit in the center not the outside.
3.Cut a simple door right by the backboards so when you hit one of the many balls over you can avoid walking though 2 courts and back to retrieve them.
Longest comment ever in the history of the flyer.
DOG PARKS!!!
The parks don’t have to be huge. When in NY, I stop by any dog park I can (Union Square-tiny Washington Square-bigger than tiny, Thompkins Square-perfect). I wish there were more parks spread throughout town. Dog parks are great for socializing dogs (and people) and provide good exercise. They’re usually self-policing by the users, meaning the dog owners make sure the dogs behave and everyone encourages each other to poop scoop. I used one in SF’s Golden Gate park almost daily – it was a total scene and folks knew one another and all about each other’s dogs.
The one at the shelter is not cutting it – there are too many restrictions about use and the incinerator is in full view of the users. The other one at Lake Fayetteville is great for dogs that need long runs and frisbee room, but it’s size discourages socializing.
Here’s an awesome link for Thompkins Park, also known as “First Run” because it was the first dog park in NY:
http://www.firstrunfriends.org/
Parks and rec has no respect for tennis players or skaters. It’s just the sad truth.
Now if you swim in the pool, or play soccer or baseball, then you’re a world-class citizen and they’ll do anything for you.
But not for us weirdos..
yea, like others have said, the tennis courts at walker are mostly unused. they also rule. lights on until late. walker park in general is mostly unused. the creek there is a great spot to chill with your dog.
We ran power cords to the skatepark last night and lighted up part of it for a night session. There were over 20 people who skated til around midnight. It was a blast. The whole time we were using our own work lights to have minimal lighting, there was an unused baseball field on the other side of Walker that was lit up like Christmas. Also, the tennis courts were empty, and brighter than hell.
I can guarantee that the skatepark is the most used feature in walker park; it is a shame it sits in the dark when we have these cool summer nights.
@Mark – Unfortunately, not a single person showed up to the parks and rec meeting to ask that this be a priority.
I do have an update, though. I was told that the department is “waiting for there to be lighting standards established for skate parks.” Apparently, other parks (like baseball) have positioning and illumination standards set forth to reduce the chances of shadows in the playing area that might interfere with a) the game and b) safety. What I’ve been told is that there are no standards for lighting a skatepark yet and that the city needs to have that info before proceeding. I was also told that the city’s Park Planning Superintendent will check on those standards later this year at the National Landscape Architect Annual Conference. Parks & Rec Director Connie Edmonston assured me that they would keep this on their radar.
Kinda catch 22. There is no organizing body for skateparks, so there are no lighting standards. I am still surprised that the city was willing to build a park with no standards, if that is their attitude. The skatepark meets no standards of design/function that I know of, it is actually very poorly designed. And asking the landscape architects is not a good solution, LAs usually don’t know their ass from a bowl in the ground when it comes to skateparks.
As far as I know, skatepark lights needs to meet only two criteria, that they be:
1. at the skatepark
2. on at night
And to claim they are waiting for standards contradicts what I was told a couple of years ago, which is “we aren’t putting in the lights because people don’t skateboard at night.”
I played at Walker Park Monday 6/28 and one of the nets is completely destroyed. It’s more like a clothesline at the top. The reason we played there is because 6/25 the Parks and Rec people who turned the Wilson lights off again because of a pool movie (leaving only two evening courts for the entire area) didn’t turn them on afterwords.They will give them away or shut the lights off (again the courts were full) but simple maintenance is not among the chores.