Savin Hill residents briefed on $215k park project Improvements coming to pathways, entrances next spring

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department hosted a second and final meeting last Thursday, Sept. 4 to summarize a project aimed at improving entrances, pathways, and public safety in Savin Hill Park. The $215,000 project, focused on passive areas of the park, is slated to begin next spring.

“What we are doing is making the park more attractive and more accessible for the community, “ explained Lauren Bryant, the project manager for Parks and Recreation. “The renovations are going to make the park feel more taken care of, which will make people feel safer. If people feel safe in the park more people will use it and take pride in it.”

Complaints about loitering, graffiti, and illicit after-hour activity in the park have been on the increase, according to neighbors and city officials, who hope that improvements to the park’s paths and amenities will help the situation.

“Honestly I just want to see more people using the park,” said resident Joshua Taylor. “The Parks Department improvements and plans for community activity will be great for getting people back into the park and deter the crime element.”

The plan outlined last Thursday would create two well-defined entrances to the park’s trail system using improved signage and vegetation management. The trail system itself will be enhanced with the goal of making the perimeter path distinguishable from the other paths. Invasive tree species will be removed from certain locations in the park creating a more open feel, particularly around the notorious “cave” area that neighbors say has been a magnet for drinking and drug use. Some of the large granite slabs in the park will be re-used as rustic seating and a new water bottle filling and drinking station will be installed as well.

The final design for the project will be put out to bid over the winter. Construction is planned to begin in the spring. A private firm hired by the city – Stantec – designed the project.

Most of the 30 or so residents at the meeting were supportive of the plan but expressed concern that the renovations would degrade quickly without proper maintenance and an increased police presence in and around the park.

“When the landscaping is done and the pathways improved, I do not want it to be simply neglected,” said John Moran, whose property abuts the cave area of the park.

Marchelle Jacques-Yarder, the Parks Department out-reach coordinator, explained that the department has been increasing its communication with the Police Department. CitizenConnect, a city app that allows residents to photograph problems, is also heavily used by the department to track and resolve complaints.

“Communication between the Parks Department and the community has been very good,” said Lavinia Hutchinson of Savin Hill. “They have answered all the questions and been very frank about what they can and cannot do in terms of funds, and I appreciate that.”

Stantec, in partnership with the Parks Department, has organized a volunteer clean-up day at the park that is scheduled for next Monday (Sept. 15) at 3 p.m. Stantec and city employees will join members of the community in taking some initial steps toward improving the park. Graffiti removal is currently underway and is being done separately from the larger renovation project.


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