People focused master plan

I made this master plan with people in mind. People are the primary focus. With people in mind, some of the ideas are difficult to represent. A good example of this is the skate park pedestrian bridge over the interstate ramp. For the next master plan, I will do further exploration in section. Another example is the BRT station on Broadway.

Section I

This section is programmed for a nature play area, a skate park, a splash pad, and active recreation. One of the big changes was moving the skate park to the plan East end of the section near Broadway. The purpose of doing this was to utilize the vertical façade of the skate park, which will be as tall as ten feet. By moving it next to Broadway, there is an opportunity to have some kind of artist display on the wall facing Downtown. It would be 60’ wide by about 6-8’ tall. There is also a café at this plaza with outdoor seating. The façade on the plan north side can be used as a climbing wall. The West end of this section is utilized as an open lawn for active recreation. Both plazas have raised planters over the interstate lanes which will provide visual identity and shaded seating.

Section II

I think I am most excited about this section. It is programmed as a cultural center for the park given its proximity to Broadway. Broadway is the main transportation corridor and also has the new BRT transit line. As of now, there is not a bus stop at the site. This is because there is not much worth stopping for there right now. It is also likely due to the fact that there are Interstate exchanges on either side of the park. I am exploring the idea of widening Broadway to make room for a BRT stop at the park. The stop needs a bus lane on either side of the 15’ wide stop. There is room to do this with the presence of the highway deck. A closer evaluation at a larger scale will prove or disprove. I look forward to having a conversation with my committee members concerning traffic. Moving to the plan West plaza of this section includes another restaurant/café & a visitor center with bike rentals similar to that on the riverfront. Raised planters over the interstate lanes provide shaded seating. These planters will be bordered on the West side with spaces for food trucks.

The amphitheatre is oriented the same way as the previous plans. This is due to the natural slope of the deck dictated by the surrounding topography. Like the planting master plan, there is a promenade on either side of the amphitheatre that converge on a sculpture garden on the plan East side of the section. There are two shallow pools that will look to use vibration from the traffic below in some type of interacting fashion. This idea will be explored further when I zoom in on one section.

Section III

This section is programmed for passive recreation and meditation. Previous drawings for this section featured walking paths, gathering spaces planted with meadow grasses and cedar trees. This design keeps the densely planted trees on the park edges but leaves the center as an open lawn. The open space has enough room for a disc golf course. The dense plantings would help keep discs on the deck. Cedar planting at either entrance would keep the make a nice entrance to this section of the park and are show in the sketch below.

Section IV

Section IV focuses on active recreation. This section is level enough to offer a 150’x300’ open field. Previous plans have extended 14^th and 13^th avenue across 12^th South to Division street. This plan does not. It makes this space into pedestrian allee’s, providing more space for the open field. There are not plazas at this section. There are, however, much wider sidewalks separating pedestrian from automobiles.

I haven’t brought this up much yet, but the grading plan reveals that there is room for a deck on the other side of Division St. This plan uses this space for community gardens. The pedestrian walks continue to the end of the deck, where there are viewing platforms. The interstate can be interesting to watch as a pedestrian when viewed from an overhead, sage place. This would also provide an opportunity to design a visually interesting entrance into the tunnel from the interstate.