WARM SPRINGS PARK UPDATE!
The Salt Lake City Division of Parks and Open Space created a Master Plan for Warm Springs Park in 2015 with neighborhood input. They are now looking to proceed with two parts of that plan. One is to enlarge the current practice field to make a regulation soccer field. This would involve removing a number of large trees. The second is to build an off-leash dog park just west of the tennis courts.
The city has asked for our neighborhood’s response to these projects.
Please take a look at the Update HERE (and below) and send your comments to council@chnc-slc.org.
Comments 7
As a resident of the area and a current visitor to the park, I support both initiatives for all the reasons included in the presentation. These reasons that I have long thought important. The loss of trees is regrettable, but the planting of new ones satisfies me. I recommend a broad paved walkway from the north parking lot to the playing fields; there will certainly not be enough parking in the south lot ajacent to the field.
I support both the dog park west of the tennis courts and the multi-use field. The field ought to have a backstop to accommodate soft-ball and/or baseball. Parking may become difficult with the development planed for the area east of the existing swim building. It is imperative long term effects of parking parking be mitigated to totally eliminate negative impact on neighborhood. Other considerations include the proposed trolley along 300 West and the future development of the RR owned (?) property on the west side of 300 W.
I am in favor of changing the field to regulation size to permit use of the site for soccer, regardless of the impact on trees. Thirty new trees are planned for the site to compensate.
I am not, however, in favor of moving the off-leash dog area from it’s original planned location in the southend of the park. I believe keeping the dog area on the perimeter makes a lot of sense for accessibility and lessen the impact for non-dog park users.
I am in favor the construction of a covered pavilion to accommodate group activities, together with an amphitheater, which I understand are both planned for future improvements.
A lot of people use this park to walk their dogs. Currently, I would say this is one of the major uses for the park. It is an odd location because
almost all residence are south of the park. This is a chance to make a very good dog area and make it bigger than the one you are suggesting. Forget the pergolas. Any structure you build will be subject to abuse. The structures that exist now are not well maintained.
What are you going to do about the homeless people who use the park a lot? A garden area will be a long shot. You may have a few people who will use it but this use is questionable.
There are a ton of regulation sized soccer fields in the city. The level of use for this one is great for practice. It allows for additional use for many things that are currently happening, like informal dog training and ball catching.
I love the way the park is now for off-leash during certain hours.
The loss of trees and loss of an all-park off leash area would be horribly regrettable, imho.
The 2015 plan, which was worked on for many years, had several things that never came to fruition that would be much better than these ideas.
When the master plan was created for Warm Springs Park, Salt Lake City did not have the park designated for off leash hours. Now that this is in place there is no need to create a separate area for dogs. Also this portion of the park is hot with very little shade. Money would be better spent planting and remembering to water replacement and additional trees at the park. There are half a dozen standing dead trees including some that were planted last year.
I don’t think spending money to create a separate dog park area within the park and another regulation size soccer field in the city are good uses of tax dollars when the parks department struggles to keep the grass watered and new trees alive.
A decorative type fence along 300 West would be a much better improvement to the park, as it would keep children and dogs safe from speeding traffic along Beck Street. It would also be smarter to put money into the historic Wasatch Plunge building..
More info about current action here: http://www.warmspringsalliance.org/savethetrees/