0 South Park Blocks Master Plan Draft Preferred Design Community Comment Report November 2020 South Park Blocks Draft Preferred Design Community Comment Report 1 Contents Introduction Page 2 Survey Respondent Demographics Page 3 Major Themes from Focus Groups Page 5 Survey Results Page 6 Focus Group Summaries Page 40 Comments Submitted by Email Page 42 South Park Blocks Master Plan Project www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/spb Contact: Barbara Hart 503-823-5596
[email protected] South Park Blocks Draft Preferred Design Community Comment Report 2 Introduction Portland Parks & Recreation is working with the community to develop a plan for a South Park Blocks that is safe, accessible and welcoming for all Portlanders. The plan will address key challenges and opportunities, including maintaining a healthy tree canopy, making the park more accessible for all users, retaining park character while enhancing connections, and providing space for community events. Portland Parks & Recreation began the South Parks Block planning process by convening a community advisory committee to guide the project and launching a community visioning process in Summer 2019 to inform the development of three draft design concepts. The draft concepts were shared with the community in Fall 2019. The feedback on the design concepts guided the development of a draft preferred design. The community engagement approach for this stage of the project was designed to: • Enlist community participation in the design review process with a special focus on PSU students, the Native American Community Advisory Council and Parks Accessibility Advisory Committee; • Explain how community feedback and ideas heard during the draft concept phase influenced the development of Draft Preferred Design; • Gather and understand community feedback on the Draft Preferred Design to develop a preferred park design; and, • Strengthen community relationships and build support for the South Park Blocks and PP&R.