Parks staff proposes citywide design standards and local fabrication program for benches, signs and bins
Summary
Bay City parks staff proposed creating formal park design standards to ensure consistent fixtures across parks, partnering with the career center/drafting class to produce designs for benches, trash receptacles and signs, and pursuing local fabrication to lower costs and increase placemaking.
Greg, parks staff, outlined a proposal to develop consistent park design standards for benches, trash receptacles, signage and other park fixtures and suggested partnering with a career center drafting program to create designs that local shops could build.
Staff said current purchases vary park-to-park, producing inconsistent styles and colors. The city historically favored a “blue” color for city fixtures but examples such as a red bench at the skate park show variance. Greg proposed specifying consistent product styles while allowing limited color/placemaking variations by park.
The plan would include: a standard bench and trash-receptacle design, a sign-replacement program (possibly run as a community design competition), and templates for localized fabrication to reduce shipping and unit cost (staff cited roughly $800 for a basic street trash can from an out-of-area vendor). Staff pointed to the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) as a resource for best practices and suggested starting with Carroll Park and proceeding park-by-park.
No formal vote was taken; commissioners expressed support for developing standards and for working between meetings to draft options and identify potential pilot parks.
