Atlanta Parks

[Tuckerman]

Originally Posted by Tuckerman

What is the current status on the Westside Reservoir Park? Anything happening?

Sorry to repeat my question - but in all the great excitement of Piedmont and O4W the question may have been lost. Is anything happening?

[kferq]

Originally Posted by Tuckerman

Sorry to repeat my question - but in all the great excitement of Piedmont and O4W the question may have been lost. Is anything happening?

There is no public information that gives any kind of time line. In terms of order of development, the Beltline website says that the implementation plan is currently being updated: http://beltline.org/progress/plannin...entation-plan/


From the information from the March public meeting, the Westside Park will be built in two phases, one starting in the next wave of Parks and the second phase in the final wave:
http://beltline.org/wp-content/uploa...on-round-2.pdf

So we will have wait and see when things might start.

[bryantm3]

another thing that i wish the conservancy would do is end their love affair with sodium vapour lights:



they wash everything out in an orange industrial haze. i wish they'd switch to LEDs or induction like the BeltLine is doing. the BeltLine has rejected sodium-vapour lights as an option because of the colour they put out.

if you look along 14th street at the old park entrance, there are still some lights put in before sodium vapour ones were invented, and they cast a moonlike glow. i wish they'd do that. i was disappointed to see that the fancy new lights they put in the new section were once again sodium vapour.

a park they did a good job lighting at night is adair park. it has a nice glow and looks safe even at 3 AM, a difficult feat for a park a block away from stewart avenue.

[Libertarian]

Maybe this would be something for that quarry located in future Westside Park!

http://www.businessinsider.com/chine...ruction-2013-6

[Alfred E Neuman]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

Maybe this would be something for that quarry located in future Westside Park!

http://www.businessinsider.com/chine...ruction-2013-6

Libertarian, that has got to be coolest visionary application of fantasy melded into reality I've ever come across. It's like stepping into a 'Yes' album cover by Rodger Dean. Who from The Beltline should see this? Awesome concept.

The hotel starts from ground level and plunges 16 floors to the quarry water surface then, two more floor under water. They call it a 'Groundscraper'. It will be part of the Hotel InterContinental group.

[Tuckerman]

Great use of a quarry! It would definitely be a destination hotel!

[Sharkey]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

Maybe this would be something for that quarry located in future Westside Park!

http://www.businessinsider.com/chine...ruction-2013-6

I would love to see something like that. It would be an instant destination.

[Libertarian]

We have even a bigger hole to fill!







(source: Atlanta Time Machine)

[smArTaLlone]

Originally Posted by kferq

There is no public information that gives any kind of time line. In terms of order of development, the Beltline website says that the implementation plan is currently being updated: http://beltline.org/progress/plannin...entation-plan/


From the information from the March public meeting, the Westside Park will be built in two phases, one starting in the next wave of Parks and the second phase in the final wave:
http://beltline.org/wp-content/uploa...on-round-2.pdf

So we will have wait and see when things might start.

I think it was just a casualty of the recession and resulting shortage of funding. I know that the Beltline Inc initially planned to have a small portion of the Westide park open already. Building such a large park in only two phases is going to be a massive undertaking.

[Alfred E Neuman]

So what's a half billion more for the world's largest Groundscraper?

[arjay57]

The Beltline is getting its own police force.

I wonder whether this will be an ongoing grant. Or perhaps the trail and parks won't need special policing after things settle in.

...the Atlanta Police Department and The Atlanta BeltLine formally unveiled the newly-created Path Force Unit at a ceremony this morning in the Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park. Watch the event in the video above. The 15-officer unit, made possible by a $1.8 million federal grant, has been patrolling the BeltLine and adjoining parks since earlier this month. The officers in the unit are military veterans and are patrolling on foot, on bicycles and electric vehicles.

More...http://www.atlantaintownpaper.com/20...th-force-unit/

[GTdan]

Originally Posted by arjay57

The Beltline is getting its own police force.

I wonder whether this will be an ongoing grant. Or perhaps the trail and parks won't need special policing after things settle in.

According to an article I read on the Beltline's website, the operating expense's will be absorbed by the city's budget when the grant expires.

[smArTaLlone]

Its not a park but much needed public green space at GSU.

Georgia State University will create a large lawn in the center of campus by tearing down 80-year-old Kell Hall, President Mark Becker said in his annual State of the University address Wednesday (Oct. 2).

The lawn will be a part of a green corridor that is included in the university’s newly created campus master plan. It will transform the core of the university and create a gathering place for students, faculty and staff, Becker said..

http://news.gsu.edu/2013/10/02/georg...rsity-address/

[Omaharocks]

The westside reservoir park could be an even more badass version of the Butte - Chaumont Park in Paris. If Atlanta gets creative here I could see the potential for the park to be one of the best built in the U.S. in some time.

[forj]

Originally Posted by Omaharocks

The westside reservoir park could be an even more badass version of the Butte - Chaumont Park in Paris. If Atlanta gets creative here I could see the potential for the park to be one of the best built in the U.S. in some time.

what exactly do you see as the correlation between the two? just curious. because i dont really see many similarities. I know Butte - Chaumont used to contain a gypsum mine/quarry on a portion of it's property, but nowhere near like the huge quarry at Westside Park. I do agree there is a great opportunity to make this an amazing park, and i hope they do something special and dont just fill the quarry, throw up a few pavilions and call it a day

here is a link to Butte - Chaumont in google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/5sLMV


also - here is the master plan for Westside Park: http://beltlineorg.wpengine.netdna-c...-Subarea-9.pdf --- i fear they are trying to shoehorn far too much "activities" amenities into this park. I would prefer it be more limited to walking trails and a nature experience, but there is mention in there of a water park with a lazy river and man-made whitewater courses and a wave pool.. WTF? that sounds terrible. not to mention every sports facility under the sun ( this is concept 1A ). now, i know people are going to want play grounds, a skatepark maybe, ball fields. but i hope they dont over do it. alas, it will be 20 years before we see this park complete anyway

[pawelra]

Originally Posted by forj

what exactly do you see as the correlation between the two? just curious. because i dont really see many similarities. I know Butte - Chaumont used to contain a gypsum mine/quarry on a portion of it's property, but nowhere near like the huge quarry at Westside Park. I do agree there is a great opportunity to make this an amazing park, and i hope they do something special and dont just fill the quarry, throw up a few pavilions and call it a day

here is a link to Butte - Chaumont in google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/5sLMV


also - here is the master plan for Westside Park: http://beltlineorg.wpengine.netdna-c...-Subarea-9.pdf --- i fear they are trying to shoehorn far too much "activities" amenities into this park. I would prefer it be more limited to walking trails and a nature experience, but there is mention in there of a water park with a lazy river and man-made whitewater courses and a wave pool.. WTF? that sounds terrible. not to mention every sports facility under the sun ( this is concept 1A ). now, i know people are going to want play grounds, a skatepark maybe, ball fields. but i hope they dont over do it. alas, it will be 20 years before we see this park complete anyway

I disagree, as more activities then better. Look on Piedmont Park, its always full of people and there is always something to do.
Westside is going to be even larger and there is a lot of possibilities to bring especially there is no such a large park in that area with any activities.

[smArTaLlone]

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/p...mpic-park.html

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority is planning to significantly improve Centennial Olympic Park as it approaches its 20th birthday.
The new strategic vision for the park will be to make it more welcoming to the city and the attractions that have grown up around the park in the past two decades.

Idea 1: A possible new (translucent) Metro Atlanta Chamber building on the right could replace the Chamber’s existing building. This would allow sight lines to the College Football Hall of Fame.



Idea 2: Second rendering shows that International Boulevard has gone away and become part of the park. You can see the vista to the College Football Hall of Fame and the new Chamber building on the left.



Idea 3: Third rendering shows how the plan is to open up the park to the city. The entrance at Baker Street and Centennial Olympic Park Boulevard welcomes people from the street into the park by opening up the entrance.



Idea 4: The fourth image shows that the current maintenance and office for Centennial Olympic Park has been transformed into a restaurant venue for the park, taking advantage of the Georgia Aquarium across the street.

[shivtim]

^Looks great. I really hope they follow-through and integrate International Blvd as a pedestrian-only part of the park. I think there's really a need for a major public sculpture as well. Something along the lines of Cloud Gate ("the Bean") in Millennium Park in Chicago.

[bryantm3]

i spent a lot of time walking through the park last month and i noticed two things that need to be fixed:

the park south of andrew young international boulevard is very nice, and has a very good layout. the only problem is that the park around the edges is closed off; it needs to be opened up.

the park north of the street is dated and needs a lot of fixing. the great lawn feels more like an empty lot, especially when there aren't any concerts going on. the criss-crossing brick streets detract from the park atmosphere and make it feel like a series of empty lots.

when you approach baker street, the park becomes more and more sealed off to the surrounding area. i guess this was done because it was a higher crime area around there, but now it stifles the park atmosphere. the pavilion at the far north end of the park really is a nail in the coffin of street activity to baker. i have encountered a lot of homeless people sleeping in there at night. they need to give the homeless people a place to sleep.

the water feature does more to cut off street activity from centennial olympic park drive than it does to enhance it. it needs to be modified or removed.

the fences around the park should also be modified or removed.

finally, and most importantly, there needs to be a memorial set up for the centennial olympic park bombing, and honour richard jewell for saving lives. it was a big deal and needs to be recognized, and richard jewell was drug through the mud by the local and national media, when he should've been honoured. he was never vindicated and died a poor man. it's time to honour him.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

finally, and most importantly, there needs to be a memorial set up for the centennial olympic park bombing, and honour richard jewell for saving lives. it was a big deal and needs to be recognized, and richard jewell was drug through the mud by the local and national media, when he should've been honoured. he was never vindicated and died a poor man. it's time to honour him.

I totally agree, bryantm3. Richard Jewell saved a lot of lives, and was absolutely savaged by the press. Interesting fact is that the AJC was the only media outlet that refused to settle with him.

I have to admit I'm quite biased, as his Mom is a friend and neighbor of mine.