“Parks, Trails, and Open Spaces” Master Plan
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Planning for the City of Benson, Arizona in regards to the “Parks, Trails, and Open Spaces” Master Plan By Peter Kane A Practicum Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In Applied Geospatial Sciences Northern Arizona University Department of Geography, Planning and Recreation December 2016 Approved: Pamela Foti, Ph.D., Committee Chair Alan Lew, Ph.D., AICP Laura Parkin, Practicum Supervisor 2 Abstract The community of Benson, AZ has history, a strong sense of the word “community”, and has the potential to grow very large in the coming years. The Parks and Recreation Department recognized this based on multiple sources; surveys, analysis of needs, and an overall lack of proper facilities evident by scheduling conflicts. As such, it was determined that a Parks, Trails, and Open Spaces Master Plan would be written to help guide the Parks and Recreation Department into the future and help support a likely, much larger population. In my internship, I assisted in subject matter expertise, geospatial expertise, and analysis assistance for data. I feel that my success was largely due to the hard work of others and I gained considerable insight into municipal governance, public opinion, geospatial representation, and possible programs for use in this venture. Overall, the Master Plan was accepted by Council and remains a staple of the future of Benson, AZ Parks and Recreation. 3 Letter of Significant Contribution October 12, 2016 To Whom It May Concern, In October of 2015, the City of Benson Parks and Recreation Department began working on a Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Master Plan. Mr. Kane became involved in the project, as an intern, in the spring of 2015, to assist with the critical project of mapping, and areas served analysis prior to City staff submitting a Technical Assistance Grant Application to the National Parks Service. It has been known that the residents of the Benson area are underserved with respects to recreational activities, which is why the need for a Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Master Plan for the City of Benson. Mr. Kane participated is several key components of the project and provided valuable input during this time. Benson is a community that consists of one partially developed park and a few smaller pocket parks. The need and desire for a trail system is great, Mr. Kane provided suggestions, maps and theories to help pinpoint feasible locations to establish a trail system. Along with the mapping components of the project, Mr. Kane provided soil analysis data and other plans for use with parks and proposed locations. During Mr. Kane’s time as an Intern with the City of Benson, he took all of the related research and data that he compiled and provided the National Park Service staff member and myself from the National Park Service. This comprehensive information was beneficial during our Parks, Trails and Open Spaces stakeholder meetings, which allowed us to provide crucial information to our stakeholders to assist them in the decision making process. Mr. Kane was typically in attendance of all critical meetings as well as meetings with the City Manager, and the Pima County Planner Steve Anderson, and other key players of this project. The Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Master Planning process from the time the City was awarded technical assistance from the National Park Service took a total of eight months, from start to approval of the plan by Mayor and Council in May 2016. This deadline would not have been obtainable without Mr. Kane’s expertise and assistance. Sincerely, Laura Parkin City of Benson Recreation Coordinator (At the time of Project) Currently Town of Sahuarita Senior Office Assistant Parks and Recreation (520) 822-8896 4 Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Letter of Significant Contribution ............................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 6 Overview of Area and Current Assets ..................................................................................... 6 Purpose and Problem .............................................................................................................. 9 Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................................. 12 Practicum Methods and Implementation ................................................................................. 14 Contacting Benson, Arizona (February – March, 2015)....................................................... 14 Workflow Establishment (March, 2015) ................................................................................ 14 Initial and Substantial Work (March – August, 2015; Various) ........................................... 14 Outside Assistance from the National Park Service (September, 2015) ............................... 21 Support Requirements and Implementation (September, 2015 – April, 2016) ...................... 22 Final Approval of Master Plan (May, 2016) ......................................................................... 25 Results and Findings ................................................................................................................... 25 Further Study and Discussion ................................................................................................... 28 Literature Review ....................................................................................................................... 31 Geospatial Integration ........................................................................................................... 31 Geospatial Data Use for Trails and Multi-Use Paths ........................................................... 32 Determining Park Locations and Size ................................................................................... 33 5 Other Supporting Documentation ......................................................................................... 34 References .................................................................................................................................... 35 Appendix A: Time Log of Work Completed ............................................................................ 37 Appendix B: Application Sent for Community Assistance from the National Park Service39 Appendix C: Example of Survey Form ..................................................................................... 47 Appendix D: Example of Draft Document and Evolution of Document ............................... 48 Appendix E: Parks, Trails, and Open Spaces Master Plan (as accepted by Council) .......... 53 6 Introduction Overview of Area and Current Assets Benson, Arizona is a small community whose tagline reads, “Home of Kartchner Caverns State Park”. Established in 1880 with the “passing through” of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Benson served multiple purposes; it was a stagecoach stop, it was a railroad stop, and was an important ranching community in southeastern Arizona (Benson, 2016). Benson covers a large area for the population. The population estimate in 2015 by the United States Census was 4,888 (American FactFinder, 2016). As of 2000, there were a known 4,711 people residing in the city and a population density of 131.9 people per square mile (City Data, 2016). The map below shows the area of Benson. As you can see, the area is significant. Figure 1 Outline of Benson, AZ in yellow Source: Author 7 There are multiple parks within city limits; Lion’s Park, Apache Park, and Union Street Park. Lion’s Park, the most developed, contains multiple sports fields with lights, ramadas, restrooms, and grilling areas1. There is an active community center and a community pool located nearby. The current list of Parks, per the City of Benson website, offer each of these facilities; LIONS PARK: -Multiple sports fields: Little League, “Sandlot”, Soccer, and Softball -Basketball Courts -Horseshoes - Numerous ramadas -Volleyball - Skatepark -Walking trails -Grills - Playgrounds - Restrooms UNION STREET PARK: - Two small ramadas -Grills -Field -Adjacent to community center and pool APACHE PARK: -Part of the historical district 1 http://www.cityofbenson.com/index.asp?SEC=F6C46232-F62B-4AE9-AA0F-B1C2415DF96E&Type=B_BASIC 8 The locations of the parks, in relation to the major part of the city is shown below (map taken from Benson Parks and Recreation page): Figure 2 Location of current Benson, AZ area parks Source: City of Benson In the next section, the problem of the location of these parks will be discussed further. The size of the parks, while large also offer a problem that will also be discussed further. 9 Purpose and Problem The completed “Parks, Trails, and Open Spaces Master Plan” states the purpose of writing as, “This is the first ever, Parks, Trails and Open Spaces Master Plan for the City of Benson and the Parks and Recreation Department. It has been prompted by two specific situations: 1) Existing facilities at Lions Park and the community pool cannot adequately serve and meet user demand for swimming and sports fields, parks and casual, unscheduled outdoor recreation; and 2) The City Parks & Recreation Department must prepare for an increase in population from the proposed