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Residents’ preferred Eastgate design centers on curving play area and larger playground
Summary
City staff shared three concept plans for a new half-acre Eastgate neighborhood park and reported survey feedback (106 responses) favoring Option 2, which pairs curvilinear paths, a medium lawn and a larger play structure; no formal board action was requested tonight.
City parks staff presented three conceptual designs for the proposed Eastgate Neighborhood Park and described community feedback that favored a curvilinear plan emphasizing a midsize lawn and a larger playground.
Cameron Parker, assistant director of the Parks and Community Services Department, introduced the project and said the department acquired two single-family parcels at 147th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 39th Street to create a roughly half-acre neighborhood park. Zarian Smith, capital projects coordinator, said staff has run two community meetings and posted a project website that has attracted about 700 subscribers.
"Option number 2…about 50% of survey respondents preferred that," Zarian Smith said, describing a plan with two oval lawn areas, curving paths and a larger play structure. Smith said staff used the three options as conceptual placeholders intended to elicit preferences; final play equipment selections will be made during design after a third community meeting this summer.
Board members pressed on several implementation and design details. One member asked whether play equipment choices would include features for adults or older kids; Smith said the site is small and staff would try to balance equipment for different ages where space allows. Director Shiozaki noted neighborhood amenities such as the nearby community center provide some adult recreation options.
Multiple members raised safety and access questions about the site’s location at 147th and 39th, where sidewalks are limited. "We need seating where you can see the street and the children without turning your back to the road," one board member said, urging sight-line and barrier design that prevents children from entering the road.
Board members also asked staff to circulate a shorter list of candidate park names before the next board meeting; Smith said staff had collected about 70 name suggestions and planned to vet and shorten the list for further community input. Smith also confirmed the second project survey had 106 respondents.
Staff said no action was required from the board tonight; after a final community meeting in late July, staff expect to return with a preferred plan later this year for a board recommendation and eventual City Council consideration.
The Department’s next outreach will include a neighborhood block party and a public meeting at Newport Library where staff hope to reach additional residents and children for input.
