Monday, November 18, 2013

Public Meeting/Open House for New 5-acre Park in Dunwoody: Tuesday 11/19 7pm at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church


The City of Dunwoody will host an open house to gather feedback on a rendering for the 5-acre park to be located at the corner of North Shallowford Road and Pernoshal Court. The park is part of the 19-acre property in the City’s on-going Project Renaissance redevelopment initiative. The park concept is based on desirable park elements as brainstormed by the community in the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan as well as meetings and a charette held September 2012. Key features of this 5-acre park include an amphitheater with terraced seating, two playgrounds, a multi-purpose sport court, and passive recreation and picnic areas.

In addition to the traditional open house, a brief presentation on the timeframe for the new park development will be delivered to attendees at 7:15 p.m. The goal of the open house meeting is to share the updated park concept with the community and garner feedback. Community feedback will be shared with the Mayor and City Council at theDecember 9, 2013 City Council Meeting.


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9 comments:

  1. John HeneghanNovember 20, 2013 at 12:57 AM

    I am very happy that Mr Joe Seconder recorded about 30 min of video from the park discussion and it can be found in the links below.

    http://youtu.be/Xi445g3kC-M

    http://youtu.be/2ou2zAtsMm4

    Maybe the entire meeting was not recorded but I heard more negatives than positives and wish more more direction was provided by the community members in attendance. I did hear positive feedback regarding the need for a basketball facility for teenagers and above with the added suggestion for possible shade.

    I am glad many questions and concerns were raised regarding the proposed small bandshell, parking and traffic as they two will be discussed at the next City Council meeting as we discuss this project. If you have other suggestions, please feel free to comment. Thanks.

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  2. Pattie BakerNovember 20, 2013 at 5:25 AM

    What about Staff preparing a list of best-practices options for the park (from metro Atlanta and across the country/world)and the community giving their opinions via surveys distributed via social media and other ways?

    And wouldn't it be nice to do something truly innovative and original?


    Some quick thoughts: I really like the splash pad water feature/"dancing waters" fountain at the gorgeous park in Norcross. And all ages could enjoy this, even if it's just dipping toes in it. It would be especially nice to ride my bike to a park in Dunwoody and run through a fountain to cool off a hot Atlanta day.

    I also like the outdoor reading room at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta. I love the physics-inspired play equipment a the park on Virginia Avenue in Virginia Highland. There's also a sand volleyball court there that all ages, especially teens, enjoy.

    And I love that the Old Fourth Ward Park is zero net energy due to a solar-panel-topped walkway/shade structure (that I didn't even realize was solar powered until someone told me).

    Let's have fun.

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  3. Joe SeconderNovember 20, 2013 at 10:01 AM

    Who else that follows this blog can add to Pattie's suggestions above? Please help & provide feedback to truly make this park unique and special and add your thoughts to the conversation.

    I'd also like to say, "Are we in that big of a rush, or can we extend the process out another month or two, to get additional feedback before moving forward?" I love the idea of an on-line survey. Please don't take this personally, but IMHO, about half the attendees at last night's meeting were over age 60. And I'd like to hear what other folks have to say.

    Although I'm not too creative, here's the list of items I offered on my comments card from last night's meeting (in no particular order):

    * Waterless Urinals
    * Solar Power
    * Water Dispenser / Purifier / Filtration System (Bottle filler -- like they now have in the Atlanta airport)
    * Sand Volleyball
    * Bike Racks throughout
    * Fruit Trees
    * Native Grasses (-vs- turf): Less water constraints, easier to maintain
    * Permeable Pavers on solid surfaces / Parking area
    * Adult "Active" Play (not sports), not for young children (here's where my lack of imagination shines... See some of Pattie's examples above.)
    * Bio-Swale = Eco/Green -- As a Feature, not a cement box eyesore.
    * Wayfinding Signs
    * Emergency Call Box
    * PUBLIC ART!!

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  4. GaryRayBetzNovember 20, 2013 at 10:34 AM

    Hey, Joe, your below age-biased comment was duly noted and umbrage by this superannuated imbecile WAS taken, mostly because folks really don't get any more Zeitgeist than this old hippie - no matter their age.

    If I had my way, for every liquor store and tavern Dunwoody has, I'd allow the licensing of a cannabis cafe and organize an annual smoke-in event with kif-shop crawls and cannabis clouds hovering throughout the town that weekend. So, Cycling Joe, don't ever relegate me to legacy status or ever ever try to out-cool me!

    "Please don't take this personally, but IMHO, about half the attendees at last night's meeting were over age 60."

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  5. Joe SeconderNovember 20, 2013 at 10:39 AM

    Just get me a darn T-Shirt!!

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  6. Joe SeconderNovember 20, 2013 at 4:22 PM

    More ideas:

    Here's an award-winning 13-acre multi-generational playground in Illinois http://landscapeonline.com/research/article/11848

    And here's a playground specifically designed for seniors

    http://www.dw.de/london-opens-playground-for-the-senior-set/a-5642453-1

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  7. Kate LeeNovember 21, 2013 at 11:34 AM

    I attended the session, and found that most of the negative comments were accompanied by suggestions and alternatives.

    There seemed to be agreement that the design as shown would need a number of changes to better meet the communities needs:
    -more multi-purpose sports courts
    -the young-child playareas duplicate the amentities at the park across N. Shallowford Rd adjacent to the Wieland property and at Brook Run
    -the amphitheater is poorly positioned for performances due to road noise (and perhaps would be better suited to Brook Run so it could be used in conjunction with concerts or events)
    - a number of questions regarding sustainability - solar-panel walkways or rooftops, waterless urinals, etc. were mentioned.

    There continues to be concern about the runoff from the stream in this area. My impression was that the staff dismissed these concerns by saying that hydrology had not yet been done and the drawings were "proposals."

    Rather than have so much re-work on the plans, why do we wait for hydrology? As a citizen, I'd much rather have the hydrology and arborist input before we design a park, or show proposals to the public.

    I'll look forward to the revised drawings and discussion at Council on Dec 9.

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  8. DunwoodyTalkNovember 21, 2013 at 2:26 PM

    Public Art? Come on, Joe. The water features are nice, but maintenance hogs. This rendering is a whole lot of nothing. As someone said, it duplicates the other park. Put in two soccer fields, three basketball courts, two sport courts, the amphitheater, and a water bottle filler for Joe. The Public Art will be the beauty of children and adults outside being active, in Dunwoody.

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  9. GaryRayBetzNovember 21, 2013 at 3:07 PM

    Plenty of pedestal ashtrays filled with sand for snuffing out butts, please! And perhaps if these butt bollards are sculpted with an appropriate amount of ornamentation, they would fulfill Joe's public art requirement as well.

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