Northwest Park Master Plan Community Meeting #2 Baltimore City - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Northwest Park Master Plan

Community Meeting #2

Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks

Mahan Rykiel Associates, Inc. GWWO, Inc./Architects

Agenda

• 1. Project Overview
• 2. Summary of Input from May 25, 2011

Community Meeting #1

• 3. Building Assessment
• 4. Site Assessment
• 5. Park Alternatives
• 6. Discussion
• 7. Next Steps

Summary of Input

Current Uses

• Children’s soccer (Saturday mornings)
• Lacrosse practice (spring)
• Baseball games/practice (RPBL)
• Golf driving range
• Informal dog park (lower field off Enslow)
• Community garden/education
• Bird watching
• General natural resource appreciation

Adjacent Roads

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Speeding on Enslow (smooth pavement)
• Free-right from Greenspring not necessary
• More people will bring more traffic

Opportunities

• Traffic-calming
• Re-configured intersection: Greenspring/Northern
• Minimize traffic flow through neighborhood

Buildings

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Red house in poor condition
• Gym building in poor condition
• White building has good potential

Opportunities

• Utilize old foundations in woods – interpretive
• pportunities
• White building as caretakers office
• Public restrooms
• Renovate gym building
• Demolish red house

Parking

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Existing parking not used – parking on top
• Parking lot full during the Fall
• Dangerous how cars park on slope above wall

Opportunities

• Better utilize existing lot

Recreation Fields

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Field condition – mowing, drainage, rough

spots

• Existing concrete bleachers in poor condition
• Retaining wall is a hazard – height
• Remnant backstops in driving range
• Encroachment of invasive plants (lower field)
• Good visibility to lower field from road

Recreation Fields

Opportunities

• Un-lighted fields
• Enhance driving range
• Remove driving range, replace with recreation fields
• Initial preference for more non-regulation fields over fewer

regulation fields

• Additional soccer fields
• Connections among fields
• Keep park spaces as flexible space
• Repurpose old bleachers
• Half basketball courts
• Putting green
• Skate park (no reaction either way)

Natural Resources

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Too many intensive uses – threat to habitat
• Great bird-watching

Opportunities

• Fewer uses and emphasis on natural aspects
• Nature trails

Community Garden

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Temporary lease
• Inadequate water supply

Opportunities

• Permanent location for community garden
• Expanded garden
• Drinking fountain/Eric Waller memorial

“Dog Park”

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Lower field works well for off-leash dogs
• Concern with off-leash dogs – conflicts with

children Opportunities

• Formalized dog park
• Clearly articulated off-leash hours
• Potential revenue generator

General

Works? Doesn’t Work?

• Trash pick-up is too infrequent
• Needs to be shared-responsibility
• Private groups offering to be partners
• Park threatened by so many private groups

wanting preferred use of fields in exchange for upgrades

General

Opportunities

• Landscape strategies
• Playground for younger children
• Multi-use spaces for children
• Recycling cans
• Park groundskeeper
• Partnerships
• Skating pond
• Movie nights
• Safety fence on top of wall

Building Assessment

Gym Building - Exterior

Gym Building - Interior

Unexcavated Gym

Team Rm. Team Rm. Lockers Lockers Lockers Lockers

Public Toilets

Existing Main Level Existing Lower Level

Gym Building – Floor Plans

Shower Rm WCs WCs Shower Rm

Gym

Team Rm. Team Rm.

• Open 5 central side walls with glazing
• Expand area of Gym on Main Level by

removing infill partitions

• Provide enclosed fire stair between levels
• Provide enclosed entry bay with vestibule
• n north side and small meeting rooms

(toilets?) Existing Main Level

Gym Building – Main Level Opportunities

• Either redo toilets and showers, or eliminate.
• Public toilets to remain in this buiding?
• Reduce locker room areas
• Provide enclosed fire stair between levels
• Provide exercise/athletic equipment room
• Provide larger workrooms with sinks for

activities needing wet services (art, gardening, etc.) Existing Lower Level

Gym Building – Lower Level Opportunities

Unexcavated

Lockers Lockers Lockers Lockers

Public Toilets

Golf Building - Exterior

Golf Building - Interior

Existing Main Level

Existing Attic Level Existing Lower Level

Golf Building – Floor Plans

Golf Building – Opportunities

Existing Main Level Main Level:

• Existing spaces used as activity rooms

during the summer.

• Remove some partitions to create

larger meeting spaces for group activities.

• Possible public toilets on main level?
• Some storage for golf operations.

Existing Attic Level Existing Lower Level

Golf Building – Opportunities

Attic Level:

• Existing spaces used as admin offices.

Lower Level:

• Storage for field maintenance equipment.
• Storage for gas powered vehicles.
• Storage for community garden needs?
• Possible pubic toilets (need ejector pump).

Red Victorian – Exterior

Red Victorian – Interior

Red Victorian – Floor Plans

Second Level Main Level

Red Victorian – Opportunities

Main Level

• Demolish building and restore site.
• Sell building for relocation to an off-site

location; restore site.

• Sell building “as is” on acreage allowable

for single-family house. New owners rehabilitate.

• Restore building for use as:
• Administrative offices
• Foundation headquarters
• ?

Red Victorian Garage - Opportunities

• Demolish / Sell / Restore Options should

follow decisions made for main house.

Site Assessment

View of existing gym building from Rogers Ave. A plaque commemorates the site as the location of St. Paul’s School from the early 1920’s to the early 1950’s.

Historic photograph of gym building from Rogers Ave.

View looking southwest from park entrance at South Bend Rd. The gravel driveway follows the alignment of the former driveway for St. Paul’s School. This portion of the park feel most connected to the neighborhood due to at-grade connections along Rogers Ave. (right) and clear views into the park from the neighborhood.

• St. Paul’s School Building, which once stood on site.

View of remnant stone wall at the base of the upper park area as seen from the soccer fields located in the center of the park.

View of remnant bleachers from former St. Paul’s School along the east side of Wexford Rd sloping down to the soccer fields in the center of the park.

South Bend Rd. Ruins Wet Views Woods Jones Falls Trail Alignment Existing Soccer Field, Typ. Existing Driving Range Gateway Intersection, Typ. Problem Intersection

View of the park looking southwest across Rogers Ave. Efforts could be made to protect and enhance visual and physical accessibility into the park from the neighborhood; these may include limbing up existing trees, planting new trees to further frame views, and denoting street crossings at intersections.

View of the park looking southeast across Rogers Ave toward the main entrance at South Bend Rd. Removing scrubby vegetation at eye-level and providing clear crosswalk connections at South Bend Rd. are ways in which park accessibility could be improved.

Overgrown vegetation as seen at the intersection of Wexford Rd. (right) and Rogers

• Ave. (foreground). There exists the opportunity to open up this view into the park

and/or create a welcome/arrival point that creates a stronger sense of identity and connection to the neighborhood.

The view to the park from South Bend Rd. illustrates the need for increased clarity of the main park entry for vehicles. South Bend Rd. continues south to the main parking lot in the park (left), but many users enter on the former school driveway (right) and park in the lawn and reduce the space otherwise available for park activities. In addition, the excess signage in this area creates visual clutter in the landscape and detracts from positive image of the park.

View looking south across the upper park area just south of Rogers Ave.

View looking west across the upper park area just south of Rogers Ave. The driveway, following the alingment which once lead to St. Paul’s School, can be seen in the center

• f the photograph.

View looking east across the Eric Waller Community Garden and upper park area to the former gym building beyond.

View looking south across the parking lot at the northwest corner of the property to the existing driving range beyond. The parking lot is underutilized and creates a large amount of runoff.

View looking north across the parking lot to the existing house and garage on park

• property. The parking lot has steep grades that are not ADA compliant. The house

grounds extend north to Rogers Ave. and east to the park property line, approximately where the tree line exists in the right of the photograph.

View looking south from the gym building to the existing driving range.

View looking west from the gym building to the soccer fields located central to the

• park. The photograph illustrates the grade differential between the upper park area

along Rogers Ave. and the sports fields in the center of the property.

View looking south along Wexford Rd. from Rogers Ave. The park property is on the east side of Wexford (left) and the Springwell property on the west side (right).

View looking east across the upper park area to the gym building from the gravel drive entrance along Wexford Rd.

View looking east to the gym building just south of the gravel drive entrance from Wexford Rd. The photograph illustrates the grade transition to the top of the existing stone wall and soccer fields below (right).

View looking south to soccer fields from the top of the stone retaining wall. The poles holding the netting that bounds the driving range can be seen bordering the fields to the left.

View looking north from the soccer fields to the stone retaining wall and upper park

• area. A house along Rogers Ave. can be seen in the background.

Poor drainage exists at the northwest corner of the soccer fields due to existing grading and needs to be addressed with the Master Plan.

The photograph above illustrates the steep grade from Wexford Rd. (right) down to the soccer fields (left). Additionally, there are few healthy, mature trees along this

• slope. With the future construction of the Jones Falls Trail, there exists the
• pportunity to improve the quality of the vegetation in this area by removing invasive

species and interplanting with new native shade trees. The slope could also be the sight of new bleacher seating for spectators.

View looking south along the slope from the soccer fields (right) down to the driving range (left). Poor drainage exists in portions of the driving range, which should be improved regardless of whether or not the driving range remains as part of the final Master Plan.

View looking west across the driving range toward the soccer fields beyond.

View looking west along the southern edge of the driving range. There exists the

• pportunity to accommodate a walking path in the area between the netting and

wooded edge regardless of whether or not the driving range remains as part of the Master Plan.

View looking northwest across the soccer field along Enslow Ave. The tree line along Enslow allows filtered views to the Springwell property beyond.

View of the tree line running along Enslow Ave between the soccer field (foreground) and Springwell property (background). The surface of Enslow is obstructed from view due to a slight berm between it and the field.

View looking west along Enslow Ave. from its intersection with Wexford Rd. There exists the opportunity for parallel or head-in parking to be accommodated along its south side (left).

Park Alternatives

South Bend Rd. Ruins Wet Views Woods Jones Falls Trail Alignment Existing Soccer Field, Typ. Existing Driving Range Gateway Intersection, Typ. Problem Intersection

Driving Range

• Remains in existing

location

Community Gardens

• Expanded in place

Neighborhood Park

• Open Lawn
• Mature Trees
• “Front Yard”
• Tot Lot
• Pathways

Baseball Field

• 300’ pocket
• Grading into hill and trees
• Parking in the woods
• Requires grading that

results in loss of portion

• f existing woods

Nature Trails

• Woodland /Habitat

Protection

Intersection

• Reconfigured

Flex Area

• Passive Play
• Dog Park
• Overlapping Field

Overlook

• New bleacher area

South Bend Rd.

Alternative A

Parking

• Parallel or head-in

Playground Opportunities

• Small Playground
• Large Playground; possibly

reduced width to allow loop path

Soccer Fields

Flex Area

• Passive play
• Dog Park
• Overlapping Field
• Large Playground
• Basketball

Community Gardens

• Terraced
• Closer to White Building

Neighborhood Park

• Open Lawn
• Mature Trees
• “Front Yard”
• Tot Lot

Baseball Field

• 350’-400’ pocket

Overlook

• New bleacher area

South Bend Rd.

Alternative B

Nature Trails

• Woodland /Habitat

Protection

Intersection

• Narrowed right lane

Parking Soccer Field, Typ. Playground

Discussion