Public Workshop No. 3
The third public workshop was held to discuss the draft plan that was developed by the design team. This plan was formed from feedback given at previous public events, council meetings and other stakeholder meetings. The public workshop began with a brief powerpoint presentation (view the powerpoint) after which community members were given the opportunity to ask questions and fill out comment forms (view the comments).
Plan Board:
Character Board:
Certain plan proposals are shown on property not owned by the city, and are shown for discussion purposes only. These proposals may not represent the desires or will of the city or other property owners. Acceptance, feasibility and implementation of concepts affecting property not owned by the city, or city operations on city owned land will be subject to further discussion and negotiation.
I’m very disappointed by two elements of the final plan–keeping the RV park and not having a dog park incorporated. I feel that the RV park is on prime creekside real estate that is not going to the use of Goldenites. If it were moved elsewhere it would still bring in income but not take away park usage along this section of creek. As to a dog park, the more legal parks there are, the fewer dogs will be off leash illegally, and having one along the creek corridor where there is high dog traffic anyway will especially help.
Also I’m concerned that 9th St. will become a de facto feeder for the Community Center with the new parking configuration. Other than that, I like how parking is pulled away from creekside, opening up more park along the creek (same motivation for wanting the RV park moved).
I absolutely love this entire plan…me and my friends have lived in golden and i cant count the amount of times i have wanted golden to build a skate park/plaza. I live in the heart of golden on 10th street and for years i have wanted them to build a crosswalk on it…now it seems i wont even need one! Please, please have this master plan approved so i can skate it up with my friends!
-DW
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot (Joni Mitchell)
Members of the Lion’s Park neighborhood attended the meetings and provided input about the proposed changes. We spoke against any modifications in the area that would increase traffic, parking and noise in our neighborhood. We were surprised to see that the “final” plan that was presented on October 5th proposes closing 10th Street at Maple and re-routing traffic via a new 9th street connector that cuts through Lion’s Park. We feel that 10th street should remain open and traffic flow be enhanced with additional access off 8th Street by way of the city shops. 8th Street access to the park in this manner is included in the final plan. However, redirecting traffic from 10th to 9th will not be efficient, nor will it be the best route for RV or emergency vehicles and will not be the best solution for our children or the families that visit Lion’s Park. We are further concerned that the plan proposes eliminating the parking area by the ball fields. This will further complicate traffic flow and force additional congestion on 9th Street. The plan anticipates that the kayakers will be enticed by a new water feature closer to Washington, facilitating their use of the downtown parking structures. But the lot by the ball fields is also used by softball and football teams and game attendees. Parking by the City Shops and/or Library will not be enough to accommodate these groups. A search for parking spaces will further complicate traffic flow on 9th.
A road and parking area should not be eliminated from a non-residential area only to be reconstructed a block away in a residential area. One of the reasons the plan proposes closure of 10th street is to accommodate a children’s water feature by the playground that makes use of the creek. We believe this concept is better attained by enhancing the current creek side play area below Parfet Park, with better access to parking structures and restaurants. The plan also proposes eliminating the pavilion by the playground and replacing the east end pavilion with a larger one. We know that the west end pavilion is favored by families with children because of it’s proximity to the playground. This would be a loss to the community. In addition, a larger pavilion on the east end would have a negative impact on our neighborhood.
I am adamantly opposed to routing 10th St. traffic through a new road in the park. It does not make sense to truncate a commercial street (10th St.) and route much of its traffic onto a residential street (9th St.), as this configuration surely will. This would significantly degrade the character of the 9th St. neighborhood.
An observation at 5:30 PM on a recent weekday showed that cars came past 10th and Maple at a rate of 222 cars/hour, whereas the rate past 9th and Maple was 24 cars/hour. Thus the current plan could increase the traffic coming through and by 9th St. 10-fold. And this was in the fall, not during the summer activity peak.
In addition, 9th St.–which already gets inordinate pressure from park/event visitors in the summer, especially on the west end–is slated for even more parking pressure and parking-related traffic because of the elimination of parking at the ball fields.
Whatever plan is adopted should not harm the character of Golden’s residential neighborhoods.
I would like to know if any data support the decision to remove a tennis court in favor of a skate plaza. I am a tennis player, and frequently I am unable to find an open court at Lions Park, even though there are now three courts. Obviously, removing a court would make the issue worse.
Tennis lessons are taught at the Lions Park courts, often taking up two courts. Some school and extracurricular tournaments are played there, and recently I saw a sign on the courts for Mines club tennis–the courts on the Mines campus have fallen into disrepair, so Mines players are coming to Lions Park.
Finally, three courts already exist at Lions Park. Removing one and building a skate park would be destroying an existing asset and incurring the cost of building a new one.
If data exist showing that the need for a skate plaza is greater than the need for a third tennis court, those data should be presented. Otherwise, it makes the most sense to leave all the tennis courts intact. Perhaps a skate plaza could be put in another location.
The City of Golden Neighborhood Plan for the 8th and 9th Street Neighborhood (signed by city counsel 9/27/2007) identifies safety as a neighborhood goal, stipulating that traffic and congestion be lessened:
“The diversity of uses within and adjacent to the Neighborhood results in traffic patterns different than standard residential areas. The primary transportation goals include considering and accommodating pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic modes in a safe, Neighborhood-oriented manner”.
The new plan can not realistically be interpreted as meeting this goal. The current playground area is utilized by many families who also access the Community Center during their park stay. The park is home to many wedding parties who also need access to the Community Center. Will it be safe to put a road between them?
The City of Golden 8th and 9th Street Neighborhood Plan also identifies that “substantial efforts should be made to maintain and enhance the historic character of the Neighborhood”. Is it in keeping with the neighborhood history to put a road through Lion’s Park?
A road and parking area should not be eliminated from a non-residential area only to be reconstructed a block away in a residential area. One of the reasons the plan proposes closure of 10th street is to accommodate a children’s water feature by the playground that makes use of the creek. We believe this concept is better attained by enhancing the current creek side play area below Parfet Park, with better access to parking structures and restaurants. The plan also proposes eliminating the pavilion by the playground and replacing the east end pavilion with a larger one. We know that the west end pavilion is favored by families with children because of it’s proximity to the playground. This would be a loss to the community. In addition, a larger pavilion on the east end would have a negative impact on our neighborhood.
I strongly oppose the current plan for the Clear Creek corridor. Here are the following items that I most strongly oppose:
1. I believe that the closure of 10th street as a through street has a serious negative implication: that the residential 9th street will become the through street for traffic in the area. I believe that the current plan will shift 10th street traffic to 9th street which will increase noise and decrease safety (particularly for children) on 9th street.
2. I oppose the elimination of the parking lot near the ball fields and the addition of on-street parking around and in Lions Park. Elimination of off–street parking provided by the existing parking lot near the ball fields will cause people to park in the proposed new on-street parking around and in Lions Park. An increase in on-street parking will increases the interaction between moving cars and people loading/unloading their parked cars. This type of interaction greatly increases safety risks.
I oppose the placement of the skate park in the Clear Creek Corridor area. I have no problem with Golden having a skate park elsewhere in Golden, but I do not support the placement of the skate park near the Creek. I support the idea of having a green and natural (as natural as possible) area near the Creek. The addition of the skate park near the Creek is not aligned with a green and natural area near the Creek.
On the website for the plan, under the Process/Schedule tab (http://www.clearcreekplan.net/about) , it says “The Design Team will collect and analyze data.” I would like to know 1) what data were collected and analyzed and 2) how do data and research from other communities support the plan that was developed. I would like the city to uphold its goal of transparency by sharing the data and research they are using to develop the Clear Creek Corridor plan. Please share these data and research on the master plan website.