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Board hears feasibility update on Central Park improvements and Parkway sidewalk project
Summary
The board received a feasibility update on Central Park infrastructure — including possible road/parking changes and a pedestrian bridge — and an update on the 2025 Parkway sidewalk and pedestrian crossing project; technical studies and an environmental review are underway with a mid‑March milestone expected.
At its Jan. 27 meeting, the BK Development Corp received detailed project updates on Central Park infrastructure improvements and on the 2025 Parkway sidewalk and pedestrian crossing project. Staff said a preliminary engineering feasibility study has been kicked off to assess whether an alternate roadway alignment, parking extension and pedestrian-bridge improvements are feasible.
Staff explained the feasibility scope will produce a preliminary engineer’s report and that the project team will conduct a site visit with the project engineer next week. The staff presentation emphasized that the master plan’s conceptual alignment did not include detailed civil engineering and that the engineer’s study will determine whether a drawing on paper is physically achievable and what the likely costs would be.
Board members questioned whether the proposed blue-line connection in exhibit materials represented a public or private drive; staff answered that the connection would be to a public roadway and said any chosen alignment would require trip-generation review and a traffic impact analysis before the board could proceed. Staff also flagged possible impacts near the nearby Montessori School and said traffic-calming measures would be considered to limit cut-through traffic.
On the Parkway sidewalk project, staff said design work is focused on alignment, grading, drainage and right-of-way constraints; a grant-era exhibit that suggested a looped trail was clarified as misleading, and staff said the on-the-ground plan will remain a single trail within public right-of-way to avoid easement acquisition.
Staff said hydrologic and hydraulic analyses and an environmental investigation have begun, and that the next major milestone — including a cost estimate — is expected around mid‑March. The firm Walter P. Moore is expected to present an update in March as part of the next project briefing.
Next steps: staff will complete technical analyses and update the board at the next scheduled briefing; the CIP subcommittee will review phasing and layout before any construction plan is approved.
