ROGERS -- Work to restore the remainder of Lake Atalanta Park's damaged roads and trails will continue now that the south side of the park has opened, Parks and Recreation Director Jim White said Wednesday.
Work over the weekend got the portion of the 235-acre park south of Walnut Street open. The park was closed for two weeks because of extensive flooding during the last weekend of April. The northern portion of the park remains closed, White said at a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting.
Park hours
Rogers park hours recently were extended from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Rogers Parks and Recreation Commissioner Betty Evans said she felt later hours were necessary since it’s still light outside around 9 p.m. in the summer. Other commissioners brought up issues of the trails being open at all hours, which makes it difficult to close the parks that are connected to them. Youth curfews for baseball and other sporting events is 11 p.m., which also seemed inconsistent with the previous park closing time of 9 p.m., commissioners said.
Source: Staff report
Electric Bicycles Update
Rogers Parks and Recreation commissioners discussed allowing electric bicycles on city trails at meetings in April and May. Commissioners agreed electric bicycles should be allowed on trails, given they are not technically motorized vehicles and are still propelled by pedals, not throttles. They discussed the definition of e-bikes, including the difference in those and other small devices such as mopeds, the speed limit on trails, noise levels, the benefits to riders with knee or other physical issues and whether surrounding cities allow them before making the decision.
Source: Staff Report
"The park held up fairly well, with the exception of the obvious bad areas," said David Hook, facilities development manager.
The park's north entrance, a bridge and a couple of pedestrian bridges or boardwalks saw the most damage.
"The things we were concerned about, like the plants and things near the water's edge, did remarkably well through such a major flood," Hook said.
The lake's forebay, an artificial pool of water in front of the lake, caught sediment during the flooding and worked exactly as the city hoped it would, Hook said. The flooding revealed to Hook and his staff a few more forebays might be useful.
An engineer is assessing damage made to the road and one of the pedestrian boardwalks, Hook said. Restoration efforts will concentrate on allowing visitors access to the boat launch and other areas following the assessment.
Today a company will install fencing around areas of the lake still dangerous, Hook said.
"So many people want to get [back] on these trails, it's unbelievable," White said.
If the installation of the perimeter fencing goes well, the department would consider opening part of the north side of the park, including two small lawns, the Lake Atalanta playground and eventually its foot bridge, the loop around the lake and trail access, said White, who gave no estimated date for opening the entire park.
"The goal is to get as much open on the north side as we can," he said.
The more than 8 inches of rain that fell in Northwest Arkansas caused $500,000 in damage to the park. A report of damage estimates assembled by the city lists a vehicle bridge as the most expensive of anticipated repairs at $125,000. A scour wall will cost another $100,000; the lake's weir and channel will be $87,500; $62,500 for a pedestrian bridge and another $62,500 for a second scour wall; $37,500 for a park slope and $25,000 to repair the north entrance. The figures were submitted to FEMA for possible reimbursement.
Recent renovation and expansion of the park cost $17.5 million. Another heavy rain event in September shortly before the park opened caused additional expense when 2,000- and 6,000-pound rocks in the park were damaged and had to be moved.
In other business Wednesday, commissioners agreed circumstances for swimming at Lake Atalanta should be considered on an individual, case-by-case basis. Issues of water quality, dredging, conflict with fishing areas and other safety concerns led commission to agree no one should swim at Lake Atalanta without permission. Events such as triathlons may go to the Parks and Recreation Commission for consideration.
NW News on 05/18/2017