Amazon Park 2003-2004 Development Plan

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• Access and transportation is a significant issue, requiring holistic analysis. All forms of transportation to the site, including pedestrian, bicycle, mass - transit, and private vehicles will be addressed. This analysis will look at barriers to pedestrian and bicycle use, exploring opportunities /incentives for mass - transit, and identifying parking demands and scheduling issues. This analysis will primarily be limited to qualitative information. Establishing the vehicle presence associated with each specific use at Amazon Park is not feasible within the scope of this project. • Although the original scope of work as part of the bond measure improvements at Amazon Park included lighting and parking, lighting is not being proposed as part of this project. Therefore, research of lighting levels throughout the park is not planned. The recent work at the softball fields to replace the old lighting is part of an overall strategy to reduce excessive lighting glare. Additionally, the tennis court lighting has been improved within the last week to incorporate a user - activated timer system, which will limit lighting when the courts are not in use. A lighting consultant has also been contacted to measure lighting levels from the tennis court and advise on possible mitigation measures. • Preliminary construction cost information was provided at the 2n workshop for a variety of proposed projects. A copy of this information is attached. Staff will provide a cost estimate of annual maintenance costs for different types of activity areas for use at the next public workshop. • Staff will compile existing information summarizing capital improvement projects in Amazon Park. Estimated expenditures relating to these projects can be provided. • Information about the LRCS and POS Division budgets, including revenues, are available on line. There are no associated revenues to POS from recreational activities. Recreation programs such as aquatics and athletics are funded in part by program revenues. This information is included within the budget information. The website for budget data is http: / /www.ci.eugene.or :us /asd/ finance / Budget /FY04Adopted /04AdoptedBudget htm • Information relating to the City's current inventory and distribution of ballfields is being compiled as part of the Parks & Open Space Analysis within the PROS Comprehensive Plan. As that information becomes available, it will be utilized within the planning for Amazon Park. Based on the existing inventory of community and metropolitan parks, there are no sites owned by the City that are available to be developed as ballfields based on current planning and funding policies. • City staff continues to work with School District officials to maximize the public benefits of outdoor recreational space. Current efforts are underway to identify fields within the 4J inventory which have the potential for upgrade; identify potential sites for new fields; and identify loss of fields, both temporary and permanent, due to school replacement. This is all part of an effort to deal with the current trend to discontinue and /or dispose of a number of existing recreation sites to address space and funding shortfalls district -wide. Therefore, the priority is for utilizing City -owned property to the extent possible to meet community -wide needs for recreation. • On a city -wide basis, significant community input has been obtained as part of the PROS Comprehensive Plan. This plan will provide the first opportunity in over 15 years for the community as a whole to express its desires for parks, natural areas, and recreational opportunities within Eugene. The community survey is an important component of that effort, and the results are available at http.//www. ci. eupene. or. us/PW /PARKS /PROS /PROS home htm Information about the survey methodology is included. However, this is only the first phase of this work. A final community needs assessment will be completed this spring.