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Park audit: accessibility, signage and seasonal‑use gaps; committee outlines paving and amenity priorities
Summary
A park audit based on 35 responses found generally positive views of greenery but raised repeated accessibility, signage and amenity shortfalls across Riverwood Hills, River Park and Oronoco Park; the committee recommended targeted paving, signage, bench inventory and grant pursuit to support improvements.
The Parks and Trails Advisory Committee reviewed a park audit compiled from roughly 35 survey responses covering Riverwood Hills, River Park, Oronoco Park and smaller sites. The presenter summarized that respondents generally find the parks pleasant and safe but flagged accessibility barriers, poor wayfinding and limited amenities for social gathering and older residents.
Key findings cited: Riverwood Hills needs trail paving, improved signage, more shelter and seating; River Park suffers annual flooding that complicates installing permanent courts and requires mitigation plans for equipment; Oronoco Park’s pavilion is difficult for people with mobility challenges to access and needs better lighting. Committee members also noted seasonal drops in park use and recommended exploring activity options that extend use into fall and winter.
Committee recommendations included inventorying benches and picnic tables, standardizing bench design for donation programs, pursuing age‑friendly or ARP grant funding for benches, and preparing paving cost estimates for planned trails. The presenter said the audit will support grant applications and budget requests: “We had about 35 individuals … that submitted within SurveyMonkey and on paper,” she said.
Members discussed how to prioritize limited CIP dollars, with suggestions to earmark modest annual CIP amounts to build toward larger projects over multiple years. The committee suggested forming a signage subcommittee to inventory current signs and align signage with an upcoming EDA branding rollout.
Next steps: staff and members will inventory benches/tables, pursue cost estimates for paving and prepare material the committee can present to council during the July budget planning workshop.
