EDSA: City design consultant responds
We concur with Mr. Berry’s comments regarding the citizen
participation. The City of Owensboro and the EDSA Master Planning
Team went to great lengths to engage as much of the community that
wanted to participate. The meetings were advertised; the public was
welcome and in many cases, the presentations were actually televised.
The EDSA Master Planning process began after PRIDE and the
community invested and participated in an intensive public consensus
building process that included numerous meetings and workshops.
In addition outreach efforts included going into the schools for input
from the children of the community. EDSA initiated the Master Planning
process from this point and facilitated a series of seven focus group
meetings, as well as a number of public presentations that occurred
during the planning process. As presented in the adopted Master Plan
and during EDSA’s recent preliminary conceptual design presentation,
a walkway connection to parks either along the riverbank and 1st
Street was the top priority from the community. Improving public
access to the riverfront was one of the goals of the Master Plan. As Mr.
Berry mentioned, throughout the master planning process, no other
feature was consistently supported by the majority of the public than
a connection between English Park and the downtown through some
type of riverfront walkway.
As a courtesy to the individuals that live along the river, the City
extended a special invitation to the homeowners to attend a “preview”
of the preliminary conceptual design presentation at the RiverPark
Center on April 13, 2006. EDSA presented the conceptual walkway
plans in an effort to better understand the concerns of the homeowners
and to facilitate more public participation. During the June 22, 2006
public presentation, EDSA reiterated many of the concerns that were
brought up during the April meeting with the homeowners.
EDSA understands the small group of residents that live along the river have the following concerns:
As leaders of the design team, EDSA certainly respects the concerns of the homeowners along the river and has been tasked by the City administration to provide a riverfront walkway solution that maximizes
the ability of the public to enjoy the river as an amenity, while With respect to the accuracy of the materials presented by either
the EDSA design team or the opponents of the riverbank walkway, we
can only speak to the work EDSA prepared. We have taken great pains
to develop accurate depictions of the proposed conceptual design
based on the technical information provided to EDSA. The topography
or landform of the riverbank condition was based on the electronic
information provided by the City of Owensboro. This information is
currently part of the City’s Geographic Information System. EDSA
utilized this information to study the riverbank conditions and to
prepare the scaled illustrations and sections.
We furthermore respect the opinion of Mr. Berry regarding the
proposed walkway proposals however we believe it is important to
respond specifically to Mr. Berry’s comments:
During the preliminary conceptual design process, the design team
recommended that the elevation of the walkway be set at the 100
year flood elevation, or approximately elevation 390. The reason for
this recommendation was to reduce the risk of ongoing maintenance
and damage to the walkway from flood stage waters. Elevation 390
or the 100 year flood elevation is typically an acceptable degree of
risk. Elevations below 390 typically increase the frequency of flooding,
thereby increasing the risk of damage and maintenance, resulting in an
increase in life cycle costs.
Floating walkway: EDSA examined a floating walkway system
during the development of the preliminary conceptual design. One
of the advantages of the floating system is that when the water
is at its non-flood level, the walkway itself would be close to the
water, approximately at elevation 370. However, two of the primary
negative aspects of the floating walkway system included increased
construction costs due to the complexity of the structural system and
the visual appearance of the structural support columns when the river
is at its lowest elevation. It is important to understand that if a floating
walkway was built, it would need a structural and mechanical system
that would allow the walkway to rise and fall with the elevation of the
river. This structural and mechanical system would need to include
a system of columns or piers that would be over 30 feet above the
normal pool elevation of the water. Contrary to Mr. Berry’s opinion,
a floating walkway would be a more costly solution. Not only does
the walkway need to be built so it could rise to the 390 elevation
(the same elevation as with a fixed walkway solution), it would also
have the additional costs associated with the flexible system so the
walkway could move with the rise and fall of the river. Although the
walkway might be close to the water on a more consistent basis, the “forest of columns” would have a detrimental impact on the views to
the river. Additionally, a floating walkway system may severely impact
the abilities of the homeowners to maintain a private dock along the
riverbank.
Fixed natural path near the water’s edge: The costs associated
with a fixed natural path would be nominal compared to an elevated
walkway system and would be the solution that was closest to the
river’s edge. As mentioned in Mr. Berry’s article, it would be underwater
for much of the year. The proposed walkway includes barrier free
access. A consistent, barrier free natural fixed path along the river
would be very difficult to develop. Due to the dynamic aspects of the
river, a natural pathway system would need to be rebuilt each year. One
would simply need to examine the City’s efforts and costs associated
with the maintenance and upkeep of the downtown boat ramp.
Additional issues such as security may be more difficult to address
as a walkway along the riverbank could provide the ability for people
to climb the bank into people’s homes. If a fence were developed
along the natural walkway to keep people from climbing the bank,
the fence would create large long term maintenance and life cycle
costs issues, as the debris floating down the river would destroy the
fence on an annual basis. The life cycle costs associated with a linear
fixed natural path would be commensurate with building the walkway
system each and every year. EDSA does understand the desire for the
community to “get down to the river’s edge” and is currently planning
for these opportunities where the City owns larger tracts of land. More
specifically, the proposed boat ramp improvements at English Park
provide for access down to the rivers edge where the flood plain is the
widest within the Riverfront District. Additionally, the modifications to
the Riverfront Amenities between the Executive Inn and the RiverPark
Center include an inlet water feature with a proposed boat dock and
access down to the river’s edge.
Shorter retaining wall along the Riverbank: A shorter retaining wall along the riverbank was examined and illustrated as an option during the development of the master plan. However, during this examination several of the same concerns arose. Specifically, the perception of security issues by having the walkway close to the existing bank, the diminished ability for the homeowners to pursue a private dock for their property, the cost of armoring the entire riverfront with a angled infill slope and , the potential for damage to the infill slope, as well as the costs associated with rebuilding or at a minimum repairing the slope on a consistent basis due to the dynamic action of the river.
Executive Inn: EDSA, as riverfront planners for the City, is tasked with developing a walkway system based on the existing conditions found along the riverfront. The Executive Inn is certainly one of the existing conditions. EDSA, in conjunction with City officials have met with the Executive Inn leadership to discuss the proposed walkway. During the conversation, a number of opportunities were discussed. However, at this point, the Executive Inn leadership continues to develop their long-term plan for improvements at the hotel. The positive result of our meetings was that the Executive Inn supports the City of Owensboro and Riverfront Development. If the Executive Inn’s long-term goal was to alter or remove the Showroom lounge, certainly the proposed riverfront walkway system would need to respond to this change. If the Showroom lounge was removed, it may be possible to go parallel to the river’s edge, thereby reducing cost of the proposed walkway. The City of Owensboro, in conjunction with EDSA will continue its conversations with the Executive Inn and look forward to learning more of their longterm plans.
Private Investment: A large part of stimulating private investment
within a city includes a commitment to increasing the quality of
life through catalytic public improvements. Time and time again,
throughout this country, city’s make capital improvements such as
parks and recreation facilities, improved infrastructure, improved
streets, pedestrian walkways, landscape improvements and in the
case of Owensboro in their downtown, a commitment to putting the
overhead utilities underground and the development of the RiverPark
Center, RiverPark Center Patio Expansion and the Mitch McConnell
Riverwalk and Plaza. A Master Plan and the successful implementation
of capital improvement projects is a key ingredient to promoting
private investment. However, in addition to the bricks and mortar,
municipalities need to examine their land use regulations and zoning
and determine if it promotes and supports the type of development and
redevelopment desired by the community.
Point Person: Currently the Riverfront Master Plan Steering
Committee has a member of the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance
as a member. EDSA would welcome additional members of the City
Commission, however, EDSA will defer to City officials to determine its
appropriateness.
In conclusion, we concur with Mr. Berry’s reference to Ms. Morris’s
remarks, the community must strive for “the balance between
respecting personal interests while we strive for the greater good”.
EDSA remains committed to the implementation of the Community’s
Master Plan and looks forward to reaching the balance between
personal interests and the greater good of the community.