Public Participates in Parks Planning Process

By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

Bri Keifer of Huddle AK shows workshop signage to meeting participants. (Photo by Chase Berenson)

Girdwood Parks and Recreation hosted the first public workshop for the Girdwood Parks Plan on Tuesday, Sept. 16th.  The Girdwood Parks Plan project is a year-long project to generate a Parks Master Plan that can provide guidance on improvements to Girdwood’s existing park spaces and the potential creation of new parks in the future.  The project is spearheaded by Kyle Kelly, Girdwood Service Area Manager, and Bri Keifer, landscape architect with Huddle AK, a consulting firm brought on to help the project.

The meeting started with a presentation by Keifer who reviewed the results of the Girdwood parks survey, which was open from July 21st through August 24th.  The survey received 210 responses, and 87% of responses were from Girdwood residents.  Keifer said this response rate was expected for this kind of project in a community of this size, though she did mention that when Huddle AK worked on the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan some of theose surveys had over 400 responses.  In general, some of the top priorities for survey responses were permanent restroom structures, a swimming pool, covered/indoor exercise equipment, community gardens, and accessible/inclusive playgrounds.  One of the more polarizing proposed options was an RV campground, which 60% of respondents listed as very or somewhat important, though it also received the second-highest number of votes indicating it was not a priority for Girdwood.

After Keifer presented survey results, the workshop converted to an open house format that allowed participants to check out displays on six topics, five of Girdwood’s current parks and potential future parkland.  Participants were encouraged to leave suggestions and commentary at every station of the workshop.

Girdwood Park is perhaps Girdwood’s most visible park, hosting Forest Fair as well as the playground, tennis courts, and baseball field.  Over half of survey respondents said they visited Girdwood Park at least weekly throughout the year.  The leading request for infrastructure at the park was permanent restroom facilities.  The survey also mentioned park user conflicts between tennis players and pickleball players.

Lions Park is located on Egloff Drive between the road and Glacier Creek.  Most Girdwood residents regularly drive by the park, but it is not as heavily used as other parks.  Lions Park could use an anchor attraction to bring people to the space.  There was also a suggestion to increase access to Glacier Creek through the park.

Moose Meadow is a major cross-country skiing hub for the winter months, which concentrates when this park receives the majority of its usage.  There are plans for a larger parking area along Arlberg Avenue, and there were also requests for summer usage of Moose Meadow; that could be something like a boardwalk or a viewing platform.

Town Square’s survey results indicated it isn’t getting used as well as it could be.  The space could be a focal point in one of the community’s commercial centers, but it suffers from a lack of visibility.  It has existing interpretive signage and hosts the weekly Girdwood Farmers Market in the summer, but a wider range of events could help bring in more people.

Signage on display at the Girdwood Parks Plan workshop showing some of the survey results. (Photo by Chase Berenson)

The final park in focus was the Girdwood Greenbelts, which are pockets of parkland spread throughout the neighborhoods closest to Mount Alyeska.  One of the recurring themes was that people didn’t know these existed or know they are.  However, despite that commentary, over 38% of survey respondents said they visited the parks at least weekly.  There were requests for better signage to help understand where the greenbelts are and how they can be used.

There were also discussions of potential future parklands throughout Glacier Valley.  Some of the top suggestions involved the mountain bike trails near the 5K trail.  There was also talk about a whitewater park, and a pumptrack for cyclists was also mentioned.  Kyle Kelly said that one of the things that makes this project particularly interesting is that all the community can participate in the discussion and that brings together many diverse ideas and discussions.

The work towards the Girdwood Parks Plan is still beginning.  The second workshop will likely occur this winter to showcase draft park concepts followed by a public review draft of the plan in later winter, and then the plan will be finalized in the spring.

Workshop participants discuss potential future parklands in the community. (Photo by Chase Berenson)