Wenatchee Skate Park To Upgrade + BMX
Plans Are Aplenty For Pioneer Park.
 Pioneer Park while a meeting goes on Tuesday at Pioneer Middle School on possible improvements to the Pioneer Park complex. Schley and his friends Jose Maravilla, 15, and Evan Eichler, 14, would like to see the skate park expanded, adding stairs and smaller ramps for people who aren't very good skateboarders. They would also like the size increased so bikers could use the area. Wenatchee, Washington -- 03/05/2008 Nine-year-old Kasey Young knows exactly what she wants the in-the-works master plan for the Pioneer Park complex to include: slides with curves and new playground equipment. "I like the slides that have curves. I want those," said Young, who lives near the Russell Street portion of the complex and goes to the playground regularly. Young and her father, Mark, were two of the more than 40 people who suggested improvements to the park complex, which is on city and school district property, during a meeting at Pioneer Middle School on Tuesday night. Consultants hired by the city to create a master plan listened to what citizens like about the 20-acre complex and what improvements they would like to see. The complex consists of the Pioneer Park picnic area, the city pool, Triangle Park, the skate park, Recreation Park and the Apple Bowl. "We know we can't solve all the issues, and that's not what we're trying to do. ... We want to generate your input and focus on the enhancements to the park that you want," said consultant Tom Pratt of the Spokane-based landscape architect firm Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis. Last year Mayor Dennis Johnson included $30,000 in his 2008 budget to pay for a study on how to improve the Pioneer Park complex and how much it would cost. Originally another $100,000 was set aside to pay for the actual work, but that money was absorbed back into the city's general fund. Johnson told the City Council the money was needed elsewhere when his proposed budget was presented to the council. Dave Erickson, the city's parks director, said the city is applying for grants that would help fund the renovation of the complex and will know in November if the grants were approved. One of the challenges will be bringing connectivity to the entire complex, which is split up by Pioneer Middle School, Pratt said. He also said coming up with a plan for the complex that incorporates enhancements to its various uses could be difficult. "There are so many different user groups for this park. We want to provide something that will hopefully work for everyone," he said. Upgrading the skate park was one of the main points of discussion throughout the night. "The skate park is so dilapidated ... it just needs to be renovated or just completely replaced," Desiree Knemeyer said. "One of the reasons why it is so important is because it's a safe place for kids to go when they don't have a place to go. It gives them a place to go burn off some energy and hopefully go home and do some homework." Joseph Branstrom, a 16-year-old junior at Wenatchee High School, uses the skate park daily. He said exposed rebar and a lack of metal rails make it difficult to use. "I think the skate park should be moved away from the playground area, and it definitely needs to be expanded on and added to," Branstrom said. "It's an important part of the park, and there are lots of dedicated people who skate that use it. It just needs to be made better because more and more kids are going to be using it, and the shape it's in right now makes it tough to do that." Other suggestions ranged from adding bathrooms and upgrading the backstops for the baseball fields at Triangle Park to adding lighting and increasing the amount of parking near the complex. Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis will create two possible master plans for the park. The plans will be presented for public feedback in May. Suggested improvements to the Pioneer Park complex made by citizens: * Add recycling containers. * Install a stage behind the wading pool for concerts and events. * Increase the number of picnic shelters and fire pits. * Add a center lane to Russell Street to mitigate traffic. * Upgrade facilities at Apple Bowl, add locker rooms, bathrooms parking. * Increase size of skate park relocate it farther from playground. * Add BMX, options to the skate park upgrade the skate features. * Create a seating area for spectators at the skate park. * Install volleyball, basketball and tennis courts. ___________________________________________________________________ Wenatchee, Washington -- 05/22/2008 The Pioneer Park complex could be receiving a massive facelift, depending on what a conceptual drawing from a consultant hired to create the facility's master plan looks like. The complex is a combination of city and Wenatchee School District property, consisting of Pioneer Park, Recreation Park, Apple Bowl and Triangle Park. Both the city and Wenatchee School District chipped in to pay $30,000 for consulting firm Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis to create possibilities for a master plan. The initial results, which were unveiled last week, ranged from minimal improvements to overhauling several major components of the complex. "The proposals really range in cost and options from making a whole lot of changes and costing a lot to making only a few changes and not being as expensive," said Parks Director Dave Erickson about three conceptual plans created by Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis. The three plans were created with feedback provided to the firm by user groups of the complex during public meetings earlier this year. 
 ( Click On A Photo-Concept Plan 01, 02, 03, To See Full Size ) All three plans include improved amenities such as additional water fountains, picnic shelters, bathrooms, basketball courts and a pathway that cuts through the complex along the north side of the Apple Bowl. Some of the main differences between the three plans include: * One design involves flipping the direction of the baseball field at Recreation Park to where the backstop is facing north. This would be done to provide additional parking near the city pool. Another design includes improvements to the skate park, such as a BMX track that goes around the outside of the skate bowl, and an improved wading pool at the city pool. The third - and most complex - design involves swapping the field uses for Triangle and Recreation parks. Recreation Park would feature two softball fields and a soccer field, while Triangle Park would have a baseball field. Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis gathered public feedback on what features of all three designs were favored compared to others at a public meeting last week. The feedback will be used to create one master plan for the park that combines the most popular aspects of each design. The final plan should be ready in August. Erickson said cost estimates for each design were not provided. He added that the final cost for the project will be determined by what the end result turns out to be. The city has applied for grants to fund changes to the park. "Basically we're going to get some direction of where to go from the consultant and from there we will have a cost estimate and phasing plans. It all depends on how far we go with these concepts," said Erickson. Erickson said it is possible that some improvements for Pioneer Park, which would involve installing new playground equipment, could happen in October. However, if the city is approved for grant funding, then the improvements would be pushed back to later this year, he said. The city will find out whether it received the grant money in the fall. ___________________________________________________________________ Gene`s BMX News Quote -- 05/22/2008 Re: Wenatchee Plans Pioneer Park BMX Track We have herd Wenatchee is going to get a BMX track for years. It seems that every time BMX is thought of in Wenatchee it turns out to be a big flop. We hope that something BMX works out with this new idea, but we are not going to get are hopes up to much as the history does show BMX has flopped out time after time, So this may turn out to be a flop one more time for BMX in Wenatchee. But - only time will tell.... * Wenatchee BMX History Information Sources: + http://www.genesbmx.com/WenatcheeBikingInfo.html + http://www.genesbmx.com/WenatcheeValleyBMX.html + http://www.genesbmx.com/Wenatchee-BMX-DirtPark.html + http://www.genesbmx.com/WenatcheeSkatePark.html |
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