Perkerson Park Master Plan
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Perkerson Park Master Plan Prepared for Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. by Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates Adopted by the Atlanta City Council on June 18, 2012 Resolution Number: 12-R-0509 this page left intentionally blank this report has been formatted to be printed double-sided in an effort to save paper ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Honorable Mayor Kasim Reed ATLANTA CITY COUNCIL ATLANTA BELTLINE, INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ceasar Mitchell, President The Honorable Kasim Reed, City of Atlanta Mayor Carla Smith, District 1 John Somerhalder, Chairman Kwanza Hall, District 2 Elizabeth B. Chandler, Vice Chair Ivory Lee Young, Jr., District 3 Joseph A. Brown, Secretary Cleta Winslow, District 4 LaChandra Butler Burks, Treasurer Atlanta Board of Eduction, District 5 Natalyn Mosby Archibong, District 5 The Honorable Emma Darnell, Alex Wan, District 6 Fulton County Board of Commissioners, District 5 Howard Shook, District 7 The Honorable Joyce M. Sheperd, Atlanta City Councilmember, District 12 Yolanda Adrean, District 8 Clara Axam, Felicia A. Moore, District 9 Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Appointee C. T. Martin, District 10 Cathy Woolard, Community Representative to the ABI Board Keisha Bottoms, District 11 Joyce Sheperd, District 12 Michael Julian Bond, Post 1 at Large Aaron Watson, Post 2 at Large H. Lamar Willis, Post 3 at Large ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ATLANTA BELTLINE INC. STAFF CONSULTANT TEAM Jonathan Lewis, Senior Project Manager Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh and Associates City of Atlanta Liaison to Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Caleb Racicot, Principal Brian Leary, President and CEO Woody Giles, Community Planner Beth McMillan, Director of Community Engagement Ryan Jenkins, Landscape Architect Lynette Reid, Community Engagement Advocate Brandon Sutton, Landscape Architect E. Fred Yalouris, Director of Design Kevin W. Burke, Senior Landscape Architect CITY OF ATLANTA STAFF George Dusenbury, Commissioner - Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Paul Taylor, Director - Office of Park Design CONTENTS 1.0 Preface ....................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose .......................................................................................1 1.2 BeltLine Planning Efforts .......................................................................2 1.3 Master Planning Process .......................................................................3 2.0 Site Inventory ................................................................. 4 2.1 Overview .....................................................................................4 2.2 Location and Context ..........................................................................4 2.3 Park History ...................................................................................6 2.4 Environmental Site Conditions .................................................................7 2.5 Existing Amenities and Programs .............................................................10 3.0 Needs Analysis ...............................................................16 3.1 Successful Urban Parks .......................................................................16 3.2 Opportunities and Constraints ................................................................16 3.3 Summary of Community Input ................................................................18 4.0 Concept Development ........................................................19 4.1 Concept Process. .19 4.2 Concept Plan A. 19 4.3 Concept Plan B. 21 4.4 Concept Plan C. 21 5.0 Master Plan ..................................................................24 5.1 Overview ....................................................................................24 6.0 Implementation ..............................................................37 6.1 Construction Phasing .........................................................................37 6.2 Rough Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate .....................................................38 Appendix ......................................................................A-1 Concept Plan ...................................................................................A-2 User Survey .....................................................................................A-4 CPTED Evaluation .............................................................................A-41 this page left intentionally blank this report has been formatted to be printed double-sided in an effort to save paper 1.0 Preface 1.1 Purpose The Perkerson Park Master Plan is a long-term vision and strategy for enhancing the park in a manner that responds to community desires and environmental needs. The park is located a half mile form the proposed BeltLine - a multi-decade effort to integrate parks, land use, and mobility along a 22-mile loop of historic railroads that ring Atlanta’s core. The plan provides a framework for short and long-term park improvements. The Perkerson Park Master Plan is one of several park Parks can have long-term positive impact on surrounding planning efforts along the BeltLine. At completion, communities. This photo shows Atlanta’s Grant Park. the BeltLine will connect the park to 45 of the city’s Perkerson Park and Grant Park have similar neighborhood contexts. neighborhoods and the more than 100,000 people that currently live within half a mile of the corridor. users to the park and alter existing park dynamics. By improving existing parks and creating new The proposed master plan must identify all ones, a seamless system of public open spaces will potential impacts and develop clear strategies be created that establishes a high quality of life in for incorporating these new program elements Atlanta for centuries to come. seamlessly and aesthetically into the park. Perkerson Park is a 50 acre City of Atlanta park Strategies will emphasis improved access to the located between Capitol View and Sylvan Hills park and improved pedestrian circulation within neighborhoods. Taking its rectangular form from the park. The park is currently accessible from either the surrounding neighborhood blocks, the park of its two public edges, Deckner Avenue along the measures roughly 1,300 linear feet east to west and entire north boundary and Beatie Avenue along 1,700 hundred linear feet north to south. The park the entire east boundary. The south boundary is surrounded entirely by single-family residential has no public access, and the west boundary is land uses. Considering its size and setting, Perkerson accessible only through a series of four dead-end Park is fairly unique in the City of Atlanta. streets. Adding access along the west boundary and improving circulation along the south boundary The park has both active and passive uses. Active will increase visibility into the park. It will also amenities include a playground, recreation center, promote safety and provide direct connections to tennis courts, basketball courts, ball fields, and a adjacent neighborhoods. pavilion. Passive amenities include walking paths, open fields, a stream, and a tract of woodland. Improving circulation patterns between park amenities will also enhance the user experience In addition to the existing park elements, a by improving access to park amenities and splash pad and a disc golf course are planned creating safe pedestrian and bicycle routes. The for Perkerson Park. The splash pad is an entirely park currently has three vehicular access points new program element. The disc golf course is an along its two public edges and only one formal existing temporary feature that will be converted pedestrian entry at Woodbourne Drive. Existing to a permanent course. Both will bring additional pedestrian walks in the park are inadequate in 1 PERKERSON PARK MASTER PLAN, ADOPTED JUNE 18, 2012 - terms of size and alignment. There are several non- the park. ADA compliant sections of the existing pedestrian circulation system. The master plan will identify 1.2 BeltLine Planning Efforts opportunities to create a complete pedestrian and bicycle circulation system that works in conjunction The Parks Master Plan has been developed with the existing vehicular system. concurrent with and integrated into a larger land use and transportation planning effort for BeltLine The master plan will also address the environmental Subarea 2: Heritage Communities of South Atlanta. and aesthetic quality of Perkerson Park. An existing Subarea 2 consists of the portion of the BeltLine stream traverses diagonally through the middle south of Downtown Atlanta, between Hill Street of the park. Some sections of the stream have and Murphy Avenue. been channelized with a stone wall while other sections have a natural bank. In both sections, the A key element of BeltLine area planning is stream corridor is degraded by invasive species. creating a beneficial relationship between parks, Significant erosion has also degraded the quality transportation, and land use. Parks cannot be and aesthetics of the more natural sections of the properly designed without considering access stream. TSW will investigate options to restore from surrounding land uses, while land uses and both the natural aesthetics and environmental transportation facilities cannot achieve their quality of the stream. This approach will most highest potential without proximity to parks. likely include water quality features throughout the park to cleanse storm water and reduce the As a result of these coordinated efforts, this master rate of runoff from surrounding areas.