Proposed Plan 

The proposed plan for Stagecoach Park is a mostly passive open space area which has both natural and paved trails which circulate the park, a small turf lawn area for yard games such as bocce ball or Kubb, a picnic table and grill, and a small parking lot. A rendering of the park plan is attached. 

Community Engagement 

Staff has followed the Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan's on how to engage the community. The novel COVID-19 has added challenges to this work, and normally in person meetings would have been held. 

Survey Results 

As part of the community engagement process, residents were invited to take a survey. The survey was available on the website and 500 postcards were mailed to residents in the surrounding 1/2 mile area. 43 residents viewed the survey form, and 19 surveys were filled out in total. A few residents did note their the desire for a playground, or more features for children but generally, residents felt the park met the Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan's goals of what should be included in a neighborhood park. A full copy of the survey results are included as an attachment. 

Neighborhood Meeting

A neighborhood meeting was held for the park on May 28, 2019 via zoom. Residents were invited to the meeting on the same postcard which advertised the survey. Six residents attended and offered helpful feedback on the design of the card. The presentation given to residents is attached. Residents were happy with the design of the park, but had a few issues: 

• Residents were concerned about the speed of Stagecoach Road and feel it will be dangerous to have people cross the road to get into the park. 
• Residents did not like the natural surface trail and desired more room for their children to bike. 

Changes and Comments based on Community Feedback 

Using the feedback gathered, Staff and the park consultant worked to resolve some of the concerns brought by residents. 

• Regarding the road speed and safety, Staff has forwarded this concern on to the Traffic Safety Committee where Staff will review and determine what, if any, changes should be made to Stagecoach Road. 
• To address concerns about more room for biking, the hard surface trail has been extended to made an additional loop around the turf lawn area. While residents asked for the natural surface trail to be paved, due to the impacts to the existing oak savanna, it would not be possible to pave over the roots to these trees. Once the native prairie grasses have matured, public works should be able to mow these areas and keep more consistent, tidy paths. 
• Some residents did express the desire that  park should include a playground, however this has not been an amenity which was explored for this park due to the high speed of Stagecoach Road and safety concerns associated with the road. 

Park and Recreation Advisory Board Review

At their regularly scheduled meeting on June 8, 2020 the PRAB voted 4-1 to recommend the City Council approve the proposed park plan. There was disagreement with one member about whether or not there had been enough engagement with the town homes to the North of the proposed park location. One board member mentioned that the President of the homeowners association was not aware of the park, while another board member said that several town home owners that they had spoken with had seen the information and were happy with the park design. The town homes were included in the 1/2 mile radius of where the 500 postcards were sent.  Staff spoke with the president of the town home association following the PRAB meeting, who expressed his belief that the park should include a playground. He recommended the city explore ways to obtain another parcel to be able to include a playground, or modify the plan to include a playground. 

Next Steps

If the design is approved by the City Council, the consultant will prepare construction documents and Staff hopes to begin construction still this summer.