Sacramento Field Renovation: A Tough Balancing Act (2 Responses)
The Sacramento Street field is one of the city’s best-loved public open spaces so it is perhaps no surprise that plans for its renovation have sparked strong emotions. The first controversy arose over the desire to create a path into the field from Sacramento Street through the community garden. This would provide a shorter route for students from the Baldwin School to enter the field during their short recess periods. Longtime gardeners vociferously objected to the change, but after much discussion with the park planners at CDD a compromise was reached to relocate the lost garden plots inside the field.
Now, some residents are objecting to plans to create a paved walking loop around the perimeter in place of the dirt footpath that reflects a desire line created by decades of use as a “track.” Some assert there should be no formal path at all, but a perimeter path is feature that some have requested and research shows that parks with walking loops are beneficial in encouraging older residents to be active users. If the city creates a formal path it must be ADA-accessible. Whether the surface must be asphalt or could be a porous or more “natural” surface is a reasonable question. Maintenance and snow removal are factors.
Some residents also question the plan to install a few pedestrian-scale LED lights along the path. Such lights would be individually programmable and could be dimmed and screened to mitigate potential light intrusion into nearby homes.
Public safety and accessibility are the priorities behind all the proposed changes. The field serves many users of different ages and abilities, and balancing all their needs is proving challenging.
The city has held two public meetings and the planners have been soliciting and incorporating comments and suggestions. The designs that were presented at the last meeting in early May are on the project webpage. An open house to review revised plans will be scheduled in late June.
What do you think?
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