The Parking Lot at Duck Pond Park
— by Jeffrey Wisniewski — 29 April 2010 — 3 comments below »
A few facts about the proposed parking lot at Duck Pond Park:
- It is not necessary. There will be plenty of parking available on Sycamore Avenue.
- It is more than twice the size of the parking lot for Sala Restaurant (in the Civic Arts Building) and will be the largest surface parking lot in the Waterfront at full build-out.
- The design has not been reviewed by Planning (the department or the commission) and does not reflect the master plan for the neighborhood or the impending city-wide parking ordinance.
I mentioned my concerns at last week’s Planning Commission meeting…
The text of my prepared comments (which likely deviate)…
I have a few comments on Duck Pond Park and the lack of shared use of infrastructure for the design of the park.
Duck Pond Park is across from the City corp. yard on Sycamore Avenue in the Waterfront. It is planned to be passive. There will be no playground equipment or tennis courts. The Queen Anne will be restored on the site and may host events up to 40 people three or four times a year. It will mostly be used for HOA and book club meetings.
However the parking lot as designed is twice the size than the lot for Sala Restaurant at the Civic Arts Building, which will seat up to 100 people each night. Sycamore Avenue offers unlimited parking yet that capacity is discarded in the design of the park. We are building infrastructure. Let’s use it. Let’s share it.
If the planned parking lot is not completely full every day, then it is too big.
I would like to see the Planning Department get involved in the design of parks. Just because Engineering says that parking is needed for maximum occupancy does not mean it has to be built. We should be designing for typical daily use, not maximum occupancy. And we should rely on Sycamore Avenue for overflow parking as needed. Why are we not taking advantage of the built infrastructure?
I am asking this commission to conduct a review of the park, to ensure it meets the general plan — not just the letter, but the spirit. This is a park within a walkable community.
If this park gets built as planned, it will feature the largest permanent surface parking lot in the Waterfront. Is that appropriate? For two picnic tables, two bocce courts, and an HOA meeting.
We have the opportunity — and the potential — to do something great. We have a master plan for the Waterfront and well-designed neighborhoods (Sycamore Crossing is one of them). But there are small parcels that have fallen through the cracks and we need to make an effort to reconcile the differences.
Thank you.
Awesome, Jeff. Why the city continually fails to route these issues to the planners and planning commission for comment and review prior to moving forward is beyond me. This happens time and time again. A city as small as Hercules should be much better coordinated than this.
I would prefer a dedicated parking lot in the park as opposed to curbside parking on Sycamore. A parking lot is a much more appropriate and safe place to load and unload children, pets, picnic items, and sports equipment. The prospect of having to do these things on busy and dangerous Sycamore is frightening, and frankly stupid.
There have been several speed related accidents in and around this exact area already. Fortunately the area has been empty up until now. Do we really want to put our families in harms way here?
The city has done the right thing by including a parking lot in the design of Duck Pond Park.
I really hope this parking lot is not eliminated.
Parking along Sycamore would organically reduce traffic speeds — exactly what is needed. Duck Pond Park should be walked to. Sycamore Avenue was designed to allow parking on both sides. We should take advantage of that capacity. I have previously written that a smaller parking lot — one that relates to the historic Queen Anne — would be appropriate for the site.