bridgeport executive summary parks report 2012 sasaki spreads for web

7/31/2019 Bridgeport Executive Summary Parks Report 2012 Sasaki Spreads for Web

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What will the Park Systemlook like for the nextgeneration in Bridgeport?

The FuTure oFthe Park City

Perhaps most importantly,

Bridgeport should return to its

heritage as The Park City.

- Master Plan of Conservation & Development


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as Connccus lgs c w gowngpopulon, Bdgpos p ssm

will play a critical role in the uture health o the Citys ecosystem, economy, and community. More than just the sum o

orty-ve parks, the plan or Bridgeports park system represents a comprehensive understanding o the importance o

healthy open spaces to the community and to city-wide revitalization.


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The vision or the Bridgeport Parks System creates a

vehicle or engaging citizens and new partners in the parks,

revitalizing the City and the region, and reconnecting to

the citys vast, but oten hidden, waterront. It achieves the

key goals o the community: to enhance its existing parks,

expand the system through creation o new parks, and

provide better connections between parks and people.

Bridgeports expansive waterront includes the beloved,

well-used Long Island Sound, the centrally located

Pequonnock River, and uture restoration o the Yellow Mill

Creek, and Rooster River. These diverse waterronts provide

a new legacy or Bridgeport: an interconnected network

that sustains the Park City tradition set by Frederick Law

Olmsted at Beardsley and Seaside Parks, while endowing

uture generations with healthier ecological, social, and

economic environments in their own neighborhoods. Most

importantly, the plan seeks to ensure all citizens and visitors

have easy access to the parks, through a new system o

hyper parks and investment in the streets and pedestrian

environment that connect people to parks. A high-qu

Parks System will help to increase residents quality o

lie, attract and retain the next-generation workorce

and encourage residential and business reinvestment

as Bridgeport builds toward a uture with a revitalized

downtown, thriving neighborhoods, and parks that ar

accessible to all.

With over orty-ve parks in the system, including t

iconic Olmsted landscapes and dozens o neighborho

parks, the Plan celebrates unique places ranging rom

beachront gathering spaces or hosting estivals and

to walkable playgrounds or the daily enjoyment by a

in the East Side. Building on the path set out by BGre

2020, Bridgeports recent sustainability plan, the mas

plan envisions improved access to waterront park res

and highly-programmed hyper-parks that will serve th

Citys highest need neighborhoods with diverse recre

options.

Above and Right:Seaside Park hosts many

well attended activities, rom largeevents to daily use at the skatepark.

Other high-quality parks through-out the city will help increase

residents quality o lie.

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6 | Executive Summary The Future o Pa


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Upland Habitats:Includes urban orest, urban shrub/scrub, and urban grassland.Issues include runo, pollution, nutri-ents, sediment, ragmented habitat,habitat loss, lost species diversity.

Riparian Corridors:Deends against runo, erosion, ood-ing, and lter pollutants.Provides habitat and corridors orwildlie, shade or waters and scenicvalue and recreational opportunitiesor people.

Coastal Habitat:Tidal marsh, beaches and duneskey or 45% o endangered specProvides habitat, shoreline stabition, ood storage and natural and dampens storm surges.

ulad

Coastal

riaia

Bidgot habitats

Bridgeports EcologyBridgeports parks are part o an ecological system andare dened within three distinct habitat zones. The ParksMaster Plan seeks to restore the connection between urbanparks and the Citys rich natural environment.

Land Characteristics:Physiography: Coastal plain along the Long Island Sound

Geology: lacial till deposits

Soils: Disturbed urban soils, with some native soils inland

Water Characteristics:Watershed: Southwest coast drainage basin

Ecological Region: Southern New England Coastal Lowland.

rgioal ecology

Vlocity zo

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8 | Executive Summary The Future o Pa


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Shared reSourCeS &reSponSiBiliTieS

We need everyones help tokeep the parks safe, clean,active, and living up to thePark City legacy.

A deep and abiding belief that the new urbandweller, recently transplanted from the countryside,

had a need and right to public parks.-Mayor Bill Finch


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The Plan is based on the philosophy

that the park system belongs to theBridgeport public, and that it requires

ongoing commitment and investment

rom residents and private partners in

order to endure. Planning, developing,

and maintaining an extensive park system

like Bridgeports is an enormous task,

particularly in todays economic climate

o shrinking unding and budget austerity.

Successul implementation o the parks plan

will be the result o collaboration o many

partners. Although the list will grow over

time, critical partners have already been

identied and include the City o Bridgeport

sta and leaders, Bridgeport residents,

neighborhood groups and Bridgeports

Neighborhood Revitalization Zones (NRZs),

business leaders, non-prots and cultural

organizations (such as the Trust or Public

Land and the Bridgeport Arts + Cultural

Council), and the Bridgeport Board o

Education.

Each partner will be a steward o a

dierent park or park type, helping to ensurethat the park system is well-cared or and

benets rom the vision and hard work o

its many users and supporters. For example,

the City will remain as the main steward o

the major city and regional parks: Beardsley,

Seaside and Fairchild Wheeler. They will

continue to protect the Olmsted Parks

legacy in Bridgeport, and think creatively

about seeking uture revenue-generating

opportunities in the parks, through vendors,

activities, or partnerships. Neighborhood

groups and the NRZs will gain new

responsibilities or the smaller parks within

their geographic neighborhoods. Each group

will adopt a neighborhood park, and be

responsible or contributing sweat equity,

regular improvements, daily care, and

general stewardship o that park.

Future Partners in the Parks:A critical rst step in implementation o theparks master plan is developing partnershipswith the many groups who will help care orthe parks in the uture, including the Boardo Education, neighborhood groups, privatebusinesses and nature conservancies.

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Shared Resources and Responsib


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To gather support and input or the plan, and build a

partnership base or uture implementation, the City o

Bridgeport led a diverse public outreach strategy as part o

the parks plan. Public outreach was structured to ensure

that the community not only contributed their voices to the

planning process in order to shape the plan, but also ound

new ways to participate in the uture maintenance and

continuing implementation o the parks vision. To engage

the broadest range o constituents outreach included

traditional public meetings, but also reached beyond thatormat with an online survey, stakeholder interviews, in-park

user interviews, and a charette with Seaside day-campers.

The project was launched in April 2011, with initial

outreach that included ocused stakeholder interviews, and

a presentation to the Board o Park Commissioners. In late

June, the City and stakeholders collectively reviewed the

parks and recreation inventory o existing conditions and

needs assessment.

An online survey was available openly throughout the

process and distributed in hard copy to neighborhood

groups and through City Hall. Hundreds o park users

replied to the survey and used its interactive mapping tool

to answer questions about park priorities, helping to shape

the initial direction o the plan. From this survey, park users

revealed that amily-riendly parks and amenities, such as

playgrounds, splash pads, picnic shelters, and swimming

acilities are the most desired park improvements. The survey also showed that users

understand the value o the Citys unique,

large park assets, voting that the top

three parks or ocused improvements are

Seaside, Pleasure Beach, and Veterans

Memorial Park. However, it also revealed

that visibility and marketing o parks and

recreation programs is an area that needs

improvement: a little more than hal o

households who completed the survey have

not participated in Bridgeport recreation

programs or events in the last 12 months.

Building o the survey eedback, Parks

Master Plan Public Forums were held in the

summer (August 10, 2011) and again in the

all (October 12, 2011). During the August

meeting, over eighty members o the public

gathered at Cesar Batalla School to d

their vision or the plan and give eed

on three concepts or the parks mast

ramework: 1) Connect; 2) Expand; an

Enhance. In October, a second public

was held at Waltersville School to rev

and discuss the preerred master plan

implementation strategy or the utu

many participants who gave eedbac

the Citys parks and recreation needs

helped shape the comprehensive Par

Master Plan that will direct reinvestm

the park system or years to come.

Below:The planning process employedmany tools or the communityto provide eedback on the plan,ncluding community orums and

public outreach in the parks.

Above:Community voices were heard attwo public orums.

Top:Children contribute to the planningprocess during a summer camp atSeaside Park.

enggng Bdgpo Commun

n Ms Pln

14 | Executive Summary Shared Resources and Responsib


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MeeT TodayS need &plan For The FuTure

Sustainability strategies will transform

the Citys image from a rust-belt city witha post-industrial legacy to a clean, green

community with a high quality of life.

BGreen 2020: A Sustainability Plan for

Bridgeport, Connecticut

What are thepriorities of thecommunity today?


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Bridgeports Parks Master Plan is a blueprint to guide

decisions about investments in park improvements and

development and recreation programs over the next 15years, and beyond. The plans goals include ensuring that

the park system leads the way to the uture with goals to be

physically connected, ecologically diverse, accessible to all,

and economically viable.

While these are long-term goals, they are balanced

against an understanding that the master plan must also

chart a path to meet the communitys immediate needs

today. A needs assessment o the City o Bridgeports

existing park system and recreation programs showed

that there are existing decits in many park amenities and

recreation programs. The Bridgeport parks system was

evaluated against national standards, peers, and model cities

or overall system size, provision o dierent sports and play

amenities, and park operations such as stafng and unding.

The park system was organized into park types by scale or

specialization: regional, community, neighborhood, mini,

and special use. In terms o the overall system, access

and well-programmed neighborhood parks are the hig

needs throughout the City. With Beardsley, Seaside, aFairchild Wheeler as large, community wide assets, th

is well-served at the regional and community park sca

ocus o the plan is providing walkable neighborhood

with amily-riendly play activities and durable elds

courts. The most needed amenities were established

playgrounds (with a need or over ty more playgrou

ollowed by tennis courts, and basketball courts.

The quantity o park and amenities is only part o t

story around park need. The needs assessment was a

supported by a demographic analysis o Bridgeports

population that combined access to a car, population

density, income, and diversity. Using this metric, the p

identied a central belt o high need running east-we

across the center o Bridgeport extending rom either

o downtown. Addressing the open space and recrea

needs in this high need area is a priority o the master

Physically Connected

Envision Bridgeports parks as part o a connected green in-

rastructure system throughout the city that keeps people and

the environment healthy.

Connect Bridgeports signature regional parks to its neighbors.

Ecologically diverse

Celebrate the range o open space types in Bridgeports

system.

Through environmental restoration, bring brownelds, vacant

lots, and neglected lands into the open space system.

Accessible to AllOer more diverse programming.

Improve communications and ensure parks are highly visible.

Economically ViableSupport growing population trends with new parks to serve

needs.

Create value or uture development.

18 | Executive Summary The Challenge: Meeting Todays N


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regional parks

CoMMUniTY parks

neigHBorHooD parks

Mini parks

speCial Use

HIH NEED

LOW NEED

#Fields

#Courts

Diverse Park Types

Bridgeports park system benets rom a range o

park types, rom large regional parks like Seaside and

Beardsley to local neighborhood playgrounds.

Distribution of Park Amenities

A revised 2011 park inventory shows the distribution

o sports, play, and leisure elements throughout the

Citys parks.

City-wide Park NeedNeighborhood need analysis combined car access,population density, income and diversity to show ahigh need belt through the center o the City

20 | Executive Summary The Challenge: Meeting Todays N


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The MaSTer plan

Bridgeports parkswill become the greeninfrastructure of the city.

Cleaning this land isnt only necessary for

economic development, but also to achieve healthyneighborhoods.

BGreen 2020: A Sustainability Plan for

Bridgeport, Connecticut


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t Ps Ms Pln nvsons nw conncons

o Bdgpos wfons w connuous

publc ccss long Pquonnoc rv nd

soon of yllow Mll C codo. These waterronts will draw people and investmentto the downtown and east side neighborhoods, and

provide recreation that benet the entire city. They will

be complemented by investment in durable, high-quality

amenities in neighborhood parks. Together, Bridgeports

parks will become the green inrastructure o the city,

supporting the ecological, social, and economic health o the

City. The ollowing section highlights some o the priority

projects that will be transormative or the community,

including a new park at Sliver by the River, restoration o

the Yellow Mill Creek, designation o ve hyper parks, and

improved signage and waynding within and between parks.

Physically Connected

Bridgeports parks will be part o a connected open

space system o parks, streets, regional trails, and linear

waterronts. In the uture, Bridgeports signicant

waterronts will become an even more important part o the

park system, as a public access trail along the Pequonnock

continues to take shape and a new partnership initiative is

explored to restore ecological health and public access to

the east sides Yellow Mill Creek. Knowlton Park will open

soon on the east side o the Pequonnock River, and themaster plan has also identied a new downtown waterront

park location at the Sliver by the Riversite. A public park

at this critical site north o the intermodal station will oer

new gathering spaces or large concerts or summer movies, a

launch site or kayakers, and play acilities all within blocks

o downtown.

Bridgeports local parks will be linked to regional op

space resources along transportation corridors. Comp

o a nal link on the Housatonic Railway Trail system

connect many Bridgeport assets via a multi-use trail t

spans teen miles and connects Bridgeport, Trumbu

and Monroe. The Water Street dock at the mouth o t

Pequonnock River, Glenwood Park, Beardsley, and Fa

Memorial Park will all be connected along this trail.

Future complete streets throughout Bridgeport w

also help improve walking or biking environments bet

parks and park users. Complete streets are roads tha

designed or retro-tted to enable sae travel or all us

including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public

transport users. Increasingly, street design also includ

green inrastructure elements, such as bioswales, tha

water on site and promote environmental sustainabil

awareness.

In Bridgeport, Park Avenue and Lincoln Avenue are

envisioned as uture complete streets, and each will s

to connect park assets. Park Avenue will ultimately co

major, regional and community parks on the west side

Bridgeport, linking Seaside Park to Fairchild Wheeler

Course, Veterans Memorial Park, and Puglio Park. Alit spans a shorter distance, Lincoln Avenues complet

street project will improve neighborhood access to Ke

Stadium and Leroy Brown Jr. BJ Memorial Park.

Left:Sliver by the River today

Right:A new downtown park, at

Above:The Sliver by the Riversite provides a potential uture location or individuals and amilies to relax downtown and access the waterront.

24 | Executive Summary The Maste


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Accessible to All

The Bridgeport Parks Master Plan will oer more diverse

programs and services to all, improve communications

and visibility o the parks system, and ocus service

improvements on the central high need neighborhoods

o the city through creation o ve hyper-parksthat are

strategically located. Design o the hyper-parks includes

concentrating play and sports opportunities or amilies and

selecting highly durable materials that anticipate high use

and minimize maintenance. The strategy or these ve parks

includes expanded amenities at Success Park, West Side II,

and Went Field, and new designs or Old Mill Green and a

combined Upchurch Park and James Brown Waterview Park.

The hyper-parks help Bridgeport close the gap between

amenities that are provided in existing parks, and the high

demand that was demonstrated through the parks survey

and needs assessment. The plan allocates new amenities

- particularly high-demand court sports, splash pads,

sports elds - within Bridgeports parks by considering a

combination o neighborhood need, the existing distribution

o amenities across the city, and the physical potential o

each park to accommodate more intense use. The ve

hyper-parks in the core need belt o the City will he

address geographic inequalities throughout the syste

Eorts were made to ocus amenities in these parks a

the center o the city so that highly programmed spac

are centrally accessible, and amenities are concentrat

order to help minimize maintenance logistics. Beyond

ve hyper-parks, additional amenities are recommen

or each o the Citys other parks, as appropriate, in o

serve individual neighborhood needs.

To ensure the community can take advantage o ex

and uture park resources, it is important to increase t

visibility o parks within the community through impr

website legibility, marketing, clarity and availability o

and amenities maps, publications, and signage and w

nding throughout the park system. The survey show

that many community members are not aware o the

and recreation resources that the City already oers.

improved website with a clear hierarchy o inormatio

a comprehensive, printed recreation programming gu

help better communicate the Parks Departments o

to the community.

Ecologically Diverse

Bridgeports parks are part o a connected green

inrastructure system, and will play an important role in

improving the ecological health and diversity o the City

over the next decades. Current and on-going restoration

projects at Pleasure Beach Park and St. Marys by the

Sea demonstrate the citys commitment to protecting

key habitat areas, while also providing public access to

their natural resources. Re-naturalization o the edges

o large parks such as Beardsley will support increased

environmental health, while serving the dual purpose

o minimizing maintenance over time or Parks sta.

Additionally, continuation o a city-wide tree planting

program will reinorce the tree canopy that provides critical

shade and micro-climate along the streets.

Through concerted partnership eorts, restoration o the

Yellow Mill Creek Corridor will be a transormative project

or high need neighborhoods on the east side, providing

rehabilitated riparian corridors that improve wildlie habitat,

water quality, and increase biodiversity. Public access paths

are incorporated into the design vision to ensure this uture

park asset can be accessed and enjoyed by the community.

Restoration o the Yellow Mill Creek can also generate social

benets and contribute to re-development o the East Side

corridor by improving amenity and views, and opening up

space or recreation.

5 nw hy paks

SUCCESSOLD MILLREEN

JAMES BROWNWATERVIEW/UPCHURCH

WEST SIDE II

WENT FIELD

Top: A uture vision or a restored Yellow Mill Creek, with public access paths and new open spaces.

Bottom: Yellow Mill Creek, today.



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The Parks Master Plan charts a long-term vision or Bridgeport that will unold over time. Yet, critical to long-term su

is creating early implementation steps that can generate excitement among the community and set the stage or large

projects. Three immediate steps have been identied:

1. Develop and secure partnerships. Begin by developing

partnerships with the Board o Education and the

existing, established neighborhood groups (NRZs).

Clariy the opportunities in each relationship, and

dene the current and uture roles and responsibilities

or each party. The City should continue building

regional partnerships with the Trust or Public Land, the

Faireld County Community Foundation, and others

to begin putting together a multi-partner initiative torestore and redevelop Yellow Mill Creek. Th e Yellow

Mill Creek initiative will be a complex, multi-year eort,

but it is important to build on current support and

momentum and lay the groundwork now.

2. The East Side has been identied as a high need area

or parks, and hyper-parks will be a key element o

meeting this need. Early on, the City should identiy

the site o the rst designated hyper-park on the east

side and invest in these improvements. Depending on

uture conversations regarding Route 1/ Boston A

either Old Mill Green or the Upchurch/James Br

Waterview composite park would be a catalytic

step toward providing much needed amenities an

investment on the east side.

3. Downtown represents the civic, employment, an

activity center o Bridgeport and is an important

to show demonstrated progress. Early progress onew downtown park at Sliver by the River will m

very public and visible project that links to the on

work on access to the Pequonnock River and serv

a gateway or arrival to Bridgeport at the intermo

station. Additionally, a waynding & signage stud

should be undertaken, with rst steps to include

downtown signage and waynding system.

Economically Viable

A renewed Bridgeport parks system will also be a critical contributor to the Citys economic health, and eorts should be

made to minimize maintenance costs, increase revenue and vendor opportunities, and create private partnerships so that

open space can be integrated into new development to increase value. The City should seek to increase vendor opportunities

at Seaside Park and continue operating the Fairchild Wheeler Gol Course.

As has been shown in many other cities, increasing public access and waterront revitalization is strongly linked to

creating value or redevelopment. Restoration o the Pequonnock River and Yellow Mill Creek can be used to help stimulate

redevelopment eorts on the east side, linking to strategic sites such as Steel Pointe, the Lake Success Eco-Business Park,

or waterront developments. In Bridgeports downtown, partnerships with local businesses and downtown arts or cultural

groups can create stewardship opportunities or parks like McLevy Green and Baldwin Plaza that are essential to downtown

activities and events.

rlzng Vson

McLevy reen provides a scenic setting or the City Trust Building, demonstrating that parks add value to downtown development.

The Park City: Future parks will live up to the legacy set by Olmsted at Beardsley, above.



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Mayor Bill Finch

Charles Carroll, Parks Director & Public Facilities Director

Ted Grabarz, Sustainability Director & Deputy Director oPublic Works

Steve Hladun, Project Coordinator

Mike Nidoh, Director o Planning

Board o Parks Commissioners: James Brideau, James Giles, BanjedLabrador, Mark Marko, Frank A. Mercaldi, Ann E. Owens, Rosa

Cruz

Andy Valeri, Parks Manager

Luann Conine, Recreation Superintendent

Bill Coleman, Planning & Economic Development

Donald Eversley, Director o Planning and Economic Development

Angie Staltero, Neighborhood/NRZ Coordination

Rick Myers, Downtown Special Services District

Michael Moore, Downtown Special Services District

Paul Timpanelli, Bridgeport Regional Business Council

Brian Bidolli, Greater Bridgeport Regional Business Council

Stuart Sachs, Historic Preservation Commission

Deborah Caviness, Small and Minority Business Resource Ofce

Tammy Pappa, Lighthouse Program, Ofce o Education and Youth

City Council: Lydia Martinez, Martin C. McCarthy, Susan Brannelly,Denese Taylor-Moye, Anderson Ayala, Robert S. Walsh, M. EvetteBrantley, Howard Austin, Sr., Thomas C. McCarthy, Michelle Lyons,AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia, Warren Blunt, Richard Bonney, AngelM. DePara, Jr., Carlos Silva, Manuel Ayala, Richard M. Paoletto, Jr.,Robert Curwen, James Holloway, Andre F. Baker

aCKNoWledGeMeNts

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