FAYETTEVILLE -- Walker Park could get a lot funkier depending on how many of the recommendations residents made during a public input session Tuesday night become reality.
About 30 neighbors or otherwise interested residents of Northwest Arkansas offered their thoughts on what should happen at the popular attraction of south Fayetteville. The city added Walker Park to its network in 1949 and it's become a hub for a variety of activities, from skateboarding and basketball to ultimate Frisbee, softball, walking, biking and everything in between.
Residents’ comments
Residents can submit comments for the Walker Park master plan until March 23:
Fayetteville Parks and Recreation
113 W. Mountain St., Fayetteville, AR 72701
444-3471
Park planners Alison Jumper and Ken Eastin led the discussion to gain insight on how to put together a Walker Park plan. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board already set aside $250,000 to put a splash pad somewhere in the park, which will likely become the first of its kind in the city, Eastin said.
Recommendations ran the gamut of park fare. Some uncommon amenities included a parkour court, a multi-purpose space for bike polo, a BMX track and a place to play bocce ball. Other folks wanted simple things such as more trash cans, parking and a water station.
Safety became a common thread among residents. Melissa Terry, who teaches nutrition education at Washington Elementary School, said the city needs to have a candid conversation about planning the park and how it relates to homelessness and poverty in south Fayetteville. She said she has taken her daughters, Luna, 10, and Heidi, 8, to the park only to turn around and leave because of a "sketch" situation.
"Design choices can have a lot of impact, for better or worse," Terry said. "Putting in the disc golf course, which involved thinning out the woods, really improved the safety of the park. It improved the safety of the park but it didn't address the issue of what was causing those encampments."
Connor Williamson echoed the sentiments of how park features can relate to safety. He has gathered more than 500 signatures to put in lighting at the skateboard area of the park and researched ways the city could use grant money to get it done.
Skateboarders scatter after the sun goes down and at even earlier hours in the winter, Williamson said. Lighting would lengthen the use of the area, discourage dangerous activity or graffiti and would give children a safe place to go and have something to do after dark, he said.
"A lot of people like to enjoy the park on the same day at the same time," Williamson said. "You talk to anyone out there, they want lights."
Arthur Anders, 16, has started a petition of his own to get a BMX track at Walker Park. He lives in Springdale now but was born in Fayetteville and spent years at the park.
BMX venues are few and far between and having one in south Fayetteville could bring regional competition from all over, Williamson said.
"I've been going to different states asking riders, 'Would you come and race a track if we got one?'" he said.
Matt Brewer, Athen Brandon and Rob Moore outlined their vision for a multi-use court for street hockey, roller derby or bike polo. They offered sweat equity and support from their bike polo group to build such an amenity, which would be one of very few in the region.
Susan Nix, who has lived in the Walker Park neighborhood for a decade, noted the area has a strong sense of community. She said she's seen "everything" at the park and expressed amazement at how it has progressed over the years. The neighborhood and its park became an ideal spot for Nix and her grandchildren, she said.
"I love everything," Nix said. "What goes on at the park -- that's what brought me there."
NW News on 03/10/2017