Thanks to your input and feedback, the community-led Park Visioning process for Mozley Park, facilitated by Park Pride, has been completed. The outcome is a new vision plan for the park, which was presented at C. A. Scott Recreation Center on January 15, 2020.
Scroll down for more details on the vision plan and to fill out a survey about your preferences for what comes next.
Background
The visioning process began when motivated Mozley Park residents applied to Park Pride for a visioning grant in the spring of 2019. Once selected, they reached out to interested neighbors and formed a community steering committee to guide the visioning process. Working with Park Pride staff, they administered neighborhood surveys, both paper and online. They advertised and held four public meetings over six months to gather broader community input and share progress as they continually refined the vision:
- The first public meeting was held after the playground ribbon cutting ceremony on August 17, 2019. There, community members shared stories of the history of Mozley Park and brainstormed a set of guiding principles to focus the design process and to establish what they feel is most important to preserve and to improve in Mozley Park.
Guiding Principles
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- Prioritize beauty, safety and cleanliness throughout the park
- Prioritize safe, welcoming, and well-defined park entrances and internal connections
- Update park facilities to support more community-centered programs
- Include cultural elements and tell the stories of the community
- Preserve a healthy tree canopy and places to enjoy quiet nature
- At the second public meeting on September 24, 2019, community members reviewed the neighborhood survey results (see survey results here) and participated in a design workshop to begin discussing specific project ideas and drawing where they might go on park maps.
- We were so grateful to the Mozley Park Neighborhood Association for hosting our third public event at their monthly meeting on November 21, 2019. This time we gave community members an opportunity to respond to two different preliminary park concepts which Park Pride staff had created based on the community-proposed designs. The steering committee also shared a feedback survey (see results here) so any of their neighbors unable to attend the meeting could also provide input on the preliminary concepts.
- At the fourth and final public meeting on January 15, 2020, Mozley Park residents reviewed the vision plan which Park Pride staff created based on community feedback on the preliminary concepts. Community members each shared their personal priorities for what projects they’d like to see built first and learned how the community can begin advocating and fundraising to make the vision plan a reality.
Vision Plan
The Mozley Park vision plan includes the following:
- Better maintenance and lighting of Lionel Hampton PATH Trail, especially behind F. L. Stanton Elementary School
- Repair existing shelters and add more seating
- Repair sidewalks/stairs throughout park
- Convert one tennis court into a basketball court, convert the second tennis court into a flex court for both tennis and basketball
- Creative restriping of existing basketball court with community art
- Convert west handball court to a climbing wall. Maintain east handball court as-is
- Introduce creative elements on pedestrian bridge to Hunter Hills
- Formalize multiuse field and add running track
- Pave and landscape around battle markers
- Community garden behind C. A. Scott Recreation Center
- Pedestrian entrance plaza with pollinator garden
- Modify median to allow left turns into park
- New park signs at all major entrances
- Dog park
- Shade and furniture for the swimming pool
- Splash pad
- Convert portion of park road to a pedestrian plaza with benches and lighting
- Remove old playground and replace with a rain garden for erosion control
- Expand new playground
- New restroom building
- Food forest (plant native trees that bear fruit for anyone to pick and eat)
- Historical/Interpretive signs throughout park
Click here for a high resolution pdf.
Provide Feedback
We are still working to understand community priorities for the proposed projects. Please review the vision plan carefully and then give feedback through the survey linked below. Survey will be accepting responses through Monday, February 10. Based on the feedback we receive, this vision plan may be modified before being finalized.
What can you do to help?
Following final issuance of the vision plan, the Friends of Mozley Park will start the hard work of fundraising to bring the vision to reality and they will need your help. Now is a great time to get involved with the Friends of Mozley Park, Mozley Park Neighborhood Association, and Hunter Hills Neighborhood Association to offer your skills and expertise to help build an even stronger community with your neighbors, including a great neighborhood park!
Get involved and stay connected with Friends of Mozley Park on Facebook or their website, and continue to advocate for Mozley Park with your friends, neighbors, and elected officials!