Dear Parks and Rec Board Members,
I’m writing to comment on the May Park Master Plan.
The plan calls for quite a bit of development, and 73 parking spaces. It seems like that number of parking spaces is wildly inappropriate for a neighborhood park that one would expect would be mostly accessed by walking or biking. That number of parking spaces seems to anticipate May Park becoming some sort of destination park that will generate a massive amount of car traffic. I don’t think that vision is appropriate for a park that is embedded in a low density neighborhood, and runs counter to the community’s intention of reducing vehicle trips and encouraging less impactful modes of transportation. You should drastically reduce parking on Rancher St., and the design of the Hansen Ave. parking area should have much less parking, and better accommodation for vehicles that are dropping off and picking up people. It should be designed to be big enough to comfortably accommodate a micro-transit van, or a circulator bus, and to allow those vehicles to easily return to Hansen Ave. where they can take either a left or right turn.
I also think P&R should scale back some of your “improvements” on May Park. The park is very nice as it is. A passive, peaceful place for neighbors to gather, picnic, and recreate in a natural setting. Any amenities added to May Park should also be added to other parks in Town, so that residents have access to those amenities in their own neighborhood and don’t need to drive to another neighborhood adding to our traffic problems. If P&R wants to add something unique to the May Park Plan I think the character of the park would be better served by continuing the equestrian component rather than replacing it with dog park / pickleball / tennis courts, etc.
Sometimes less is more.