Lewiston hears two concept options for Simard Payne Park in River Island master-plan update

City engineer Jeff Bullies and designers from View Shed presented two concept plans for the Simard Payne Park portion of the Riverfront/Island master-plan update at a Lewiston City Council workshop, asking the council for feedback and a one- to two-week comment window before a final design presentation in late March or early April.

The proposals aim to narrow a slate of future projects for capital planning and to guide Local Capital Improvement Program (LCIP) requests. View Shed showed Concept 1, described as a simplified plan with a targeted canal access stair at Oxford Street, a new pedestrian bridge from Oxford Street into Simard Payne, canal overlooks, a dining plaza near the red shop, an enlarged stage and accessible restrooms near an amphitheater, and an adventure playground adjacent to a picnic pavilion. Concept 2 keeps many of the same elements but repositions features: cantilevered canal overlooks, the memorial moved north to a more prominent place as people come in across the pedestrian bridge, a splash pad with a new retaining wall that creates an elevated play area and potential climbing wall, and removable seating for flexible use of the amphitheater footprint.

"We are going to go through this very quickly, and we will wait for your comments both at the end, and we will give a period of 1 to 2 weeks for you to get back to us with any questions that you may have as well," View Shed project manager Jessica Higgins said during the presentation. Principal Hilary O'Judge described a range of strategies to “activate the canal,” including stepped access that adapts to changing water levels, kayak and paddleboard launches, artwork integrated with bridges and canal walls supported by an NEA grant the city has received, and winter uses such as natural or chilled skating rinks in contained pavilion areas.

Director Gagne said the city does not typically change canal water levels on a regular basis but noted dewatering can occur for maintenance: "Right now, we don't actively change those levels. We've discussed, we have dewatered the canal to do maintenance. You've seen that this past summer…so we now can manage that better because of those improvements that we've recently done." He cautioned full dewatering can cause freeze–thaw problems in retaining walls and that designers were exploring options such as raising the canal bottom in places to create shallower, more recreational water.

Councilors and staff pressed the team on specific operational and program questions. Councilor Stoll said she preferred Concept 2 for family features and praised the splash pad: "I think that's a fantastic it gets pretty hot sometimes in the summer." Councilor Glantz voiced support for placing the memorial in a prominent spot and raised questions about dogs, school-bus parking for field trips and how flexible staging would be used for performances. Councilor Nejean urged flexible, multiuse design for the pavilion and stage area, noting the existing railroad loading-dock stage is fixed: "I just would suggest that it be flexible. Whatever it is, it'd be flexible so that, different community groups can use it in different ways."

Designers described a range of accessibility accommodations planned for both concepts: a central ADA-accessible path through the park to provide views and seating for people using wheelchairs, smaller ADA ramps connecting amphitheater seating, and changes to the riverside loading and dock areas to support accessible launches. The team also identified maintenance considerations for proposed elements: the splash-pad requires a retaining wall; some play elements with moving parts will need durable design to limit long-term maintenance and vandalism.

Jeff Bullies, city engineer, closed the presentation by asking the public and council to send comments to staff: "You can forward all your comments to me," he said, and acknowledged additional project staff—Shelley Norton, John Connor and Nate Libby—who have been involved with the work.

Next steps: the design team said they will incorporate council feedback, accept written comments for about one to two weeks, and work toward a final master-plan presentation at the end of March or early April.