022306 Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Access for non - pedestrians would come via three possibilities. The primary entrance for persons coming to the park from outside of Fairview would be via an extension of the existing Public Works Drive. This road would be continued west and then curve northwest into the main parking area of the park (adjacent to the ballfield and large "southern pod "). This will discourage park traffic from outside of the neighborhood from putting more vehicles on community streets to reach the park. For persons driving from within Fairview, there are two parking opportunities — the existing lot off Rainey Avenue at the "western pod," and a new small lot along Torain Street near the ballfield and If pod." The committee remains interested in the future possibilities for the northern (former landfilled) portion of the site, but understands that addressing the actions needed to make this area usable might siphon away some or all of the funds to build the park. The focus of the master plan is thus to create a design that provides for good pedestrian and vehicular access to the park, using the best areas for facilities and leaving the uncertain open areas for future consideration. It is proposed that the former landfill areas (shown as open lands on the master plan) be planted in grass for now, to provide an open meadow area, with birdboxes and areas for unstructured activities (such as dog - walking, bird - viewing and other non - facility use). In designing the park, the group developed a list of possible facilities and then selected preferred facilities based on community needs and interests, as well as cost estimates for the facilities. The cost estimates used in this effort, and the priority listing, are shown as Appendix 3. The budget for the park is $850,000, and the Committee attempted to design a park in this range. CONCLUSION Citizens in Fairview have looked forward to the creation of the community park at this site for many years. The Committee has attempted to design a park within the parameters of the group's charge. There were a number of limitations that affected the flexibility for park design, largely due to the former landfilled areas and the challenges of retaining the needed lands for future County /Town use and protecting the mature hardwood areas and a buffer along the southern boundary. Given these constraints, and the stream buffer, the areas that remained for potential park use were limited and led to the "pod" design approach - to attempt to make the most out of the areas of the site that were usable. The pod design also helps promote pedestrian access to different portions of the site, and directs traffic to the park away from the residential streets in Fairview. 0