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Imagine the derelict railyard at the
heart of Madison's East Isthmus transformed: imagine an extraordinary
new Central Park. For decades, Madison citizens and neighborhood
residents have done just that. Now - thanks to the cooperative
efforts of the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors
- planning is underway for the new park and for the revitalization
of the surrounding industrial and residential districts. The
city eagerly awaits the reinvestment that the new park will
bring.
But something more is needed - your
voice. Madison is deservedly proud of its progressive, participatory
political tradition. Now is the time to put this tradition
to work in the service of Madison's new park. This is why
the Urban Open Space Foundation - in cooperation with numerous
neighborhood and city-wide partners - will be conducting a
"community visioning" process throughout the Isthmus
later this month. (See the schedule below.)
Through this series of meetings and
workshops, the citizens of Madison will have the opportunity
to shape the future of the East Isthmus. Your voice will become
the vision for a new park. Your hopes, your concerns, your
priorities: your park.
To facilitate this visioning process,
the Urban Open Space Foundation is bringing the renowned Seattle-based
landscape architecture firm of Jones & Jones to town.
Founding partner and principal-in-charge Ilze Jones will be
joined on the project team by Nathaniel Cormier - a native
of Middleton, Wisconsin who has attended the University of
Wisconsin.
Jones & Jones has a reputation for
avoiding easy projects and simple answers, and it is well
known for its sensitivity to place and local character. The
firm is very experienced with railyard and industrial sites
- most prominently at Denver's Commons Park, a 40-acre park
between the Platte River and downtown that has spurred twenty-first
century redevelopment in the former industrial core.
The visioning process is designed to
be flexible. We have scheduled workshops at different locations
and at different times to make them as convenient as possible.
With each workshop, the vision will get more refined, so we
invite you to attend as many - or as few - workshops as you
want.
Come tell us and Jones & Jones
Landscape Architects about Madison and the Isthmus. What do
you like about them? How might a new park make them better?
What are your goals? What are your concerns? Together, we'll
create "shared design principles."
- 2:00-4:00pm UW Memorial Union
- check the "Today in the Union" (TITU) board
for room number, or log on to www.union.wisc.edu after 5:00pm
on Sunday
- 6:00-8:00pm Ground Zero Coffee
(744 Willy St., between Livingston and Blount)
See how Jones & Jones rendered
community goals and concerns, and tell them if they got it
right. Then, help develop a park "wish list" - consider
what sort of themes (a park for learning, a park for play,
an art-park, a park for music … or something else entirely?)
you want from a new park, and what elements (a band shell,
a climbing wall, a fountain, a café, a restored prairie
…) as well.
- 10:00am-12:00pm Monona Terrace
Community and Convention Center, Hall of Fame Room
- 2:00-4:00pm Immanuel Lutheran
Church, Lakeview Room (1021 Spaight St., on the corner of
Brearly - wheelchair access from Rutledge Ct. in rear)
- 6:00-8:00pm Wil-Mar Neighborhood
Center, Yahara Room (953 Jenifer St, at Brearly St.)
See what Jones & Jones has
created based on your wish list. Is it what you'd imagined?
Then, look at case studies of similar park ideas in other
cities and tell us what you like or dislike about them. Finally,
think about how you'd want to fit the pieces of a park - that's
your wish list - together, and begin thinking about where
we all go from here.
- 10:00am-12:00pm Urban Open
Space Foundation, boardroom (200 N. Blount St., at Dayton
St.)
- 2:00-4:00pm Christ Presbyterian
Church, Fellowship Hall (944 E. Gorham, at Brearly St.)
- 6:30-8:30pm Willy St. Co-op,
Community Room (1221 Willy St., between Baldwin and Few)
Read the
Interim Report on Planning for Madison's Central Park
to find out about:
- The transformative power of parks
- The history of Madison's Central
Park initiative
- The Central Park planning process
so far
- Where we go from here: Community
Visioning and beyond (including information on initiatives
for affordable housing, rail realignment, artists' space,
and water quality/ stormwater issues)
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