MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor Angela Birney
SUBJECT:
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Westside Park Preferred Concept
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
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Brief the City Council on the Westside Park preferred concept, community involvement process, and project timeline.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Carrie Hite, Parks and Recreation Director 425-556-2326
Rob Crittenden, Public Works Construction Engineering 425-556-2838
Jeff Aken, Senior Park Planner 425-556-2328
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
Westside Park is a 47-year-old neighborhood park in the Overlake Neighborhood. It is in the northeast, residential section of the neighborhood.
The park was acquired by the City in 1968 and developed in the 1970’s and extensively renovated in 1991. A council-approved master planning process was undertaken in 2009 to update the park and included input from residents in the neighborhood. The park is both a neighborhood destination for activities and an important connection in Redmond for pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians. The project is funded in the current Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for $2.6M.
Community Involvement:
• Open House #1 took place on November 18, 2019 at Ben Rush Elementary and had approximately 55 participants. The interactive format was to understand preferences and features they wanted to see in the park renovation based on the 2009 master plan.
• Parks and Trails Commission, January 9, 2020.
• Let’s Connect survey from January 13-30 with 85 responses as of January 30, 2020.
• Open House #2, January 27, 2020 presented two concepts based on original master plan and community feedback for discussion with community. Approximately 35 people attended.
• Open House #3, February 24, 2020. The final open house had approximately 30 people in attendance. Strong support was expressed for the preferred concept (Woodsy) with an expanded sport court as depicted in Attachment A.
Findings:
Community involvement (open house and survey) affirmed that many of the findings from the master plan were still relevant to the community. These included:
• Enhance Bridal Crest Trail connections
• Picnic Shelter
• Improved lawn area for play
• Improved playground
• Winding/curving loop path(s)
• Native plantings
Further refinement of these concepts was received at Open House and Survey #2 to further the design concepts. These included:
• Preferred Concept: Woodsy Option with consolidated activity zone to separate the active noises from the serene areas of the park; also allows parents to monitor kids as the move about among the active play elements
• Bridal Crest Trail: alignment along north side of the Park preferred
• Picnic Shelter: ecofriendly aesthetic with capacity for two picnic tables.
• Lawn: One large open field allows for clear sight lines across the whole park, team sports, and several different activities/sports to occur at once
• Sport Court: A larger sport court that allows different sports to occur simultaneously is preferred
• Playground: Nature play remains the preferred playground type with high demand for swings for all ages, a zipline, natural materials, and perhaps a lookout tower, something to make this park different from the other parks in the system.
• Pathway: A long loop path was highly favored
Budget: The project has $2.6 million budgeted for the design and construction. Depending on costs associated with drainage improvements, some elements in the preferred concept plans may need to be scaled to meet the budget.
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
• Parks and Human Services Committee of the Whole on February 4, 2020.
• City Council on October 2, 2019
• Finance, Administration and Communications Committee of the Whole,
September 19, 2019.
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
Provide an improved park experience for neighbors in the Overlake neighborhood.
B. Fiscal Note:
$2.6M is in the current Capital Improvement Plan for this project.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
City Council could request additional information about this project and proposed design.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
The project has been on tight schedule in order to start construction in 2020.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Westside Preferred Concept
Attachment B: PowerPoint Presentation