HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 4/12/2017 - Memorandum From Natural Resources Advisory Board Re: Poudre River Whitewater Park RecommendationsEnvironmental Services
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MEMORANDUM
NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD
DATE: April 10, 2018
TO: Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Luke Caldwell, Vice-Chair, Natural Resources Advisory Board (NRAB)
CC: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
SUBJECT: Poudre River Whitewater Park Recommendation
At our March 2018 meeting, the NRAB voted unanimously to support, with meaningful
concerns, the request for additional funding for amenities related to the proposed whitewater
park. These include the pedestrian bridge, the south bank wall and visual aesthetic
enhancements, additional tree and other vegetative plantings, concrete walkways, a children’s
play area, as well as lighting and other security features. The NRAB feels that these
enhancements will provide improved safety, recreational opportunities for youth, seniors, and the
disabled, and transportation benefits for users and observers of the Whitewater Park.
The NRAB feels our community would benefit from these enhancements. The pedestrian bridge
will provide an easily accessible approach to the river, the Poudre trail, and may encourage more
people to walk and ride bicycles between northeast Fort Collins and the downtown area. The
additional trees and other vegetation will provide many benefits like cleaner air, shade, reduced
urban heat effects, enhanced stormwater management and water quality, and a greater quality of
life. We also believe that the additional safety features (lighting, cameras, and emergency call
station) are important for creating a safe environment for all. The children’s play area will also
make for a safer river access point for children, seniors, and those with physical disabilities,
utilizing a design that is an improved version of the successful river play area at Twin Silos.
The NRAB has five main concerns:
1) The impact of the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) on the Poudre River will
not be trivial if and when it may be approved. NISP will certainly impact the quality of
use for the whitewater features this park highlights and subsequently the planned
economic redevelopment of surrounding properties. The success of this park is reliant
upon maintained flows during warm weather months yet flows are declining due to
climate change and increased diversions. Those impacts will only be exacerbated if NISP
is implemented. We recommend attempting to maintain the quality of the whitewater
park against flow reduction caused by potential projects like NISP. We strongly
recommend staff plan for additional funding to study and mitigate for any significant
flow reducing projects. Staff should consider the purchase of additional water to maintain
the quality of the park as a means to mitigate potential flow reductions.
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2) The staff presentation did not include information on fish passage. It is important that the
design include elements that facilitate upstream passage at critical times of the year and consider
both the high and low velocities of the water at those times.
3) There are also concerns regarding the pedestrian bridge. The information provided to us
suggests the bridge will be wide to accommodate spectators but will it be wide enough to safely
carry pedestrians and bicycles across the bridge in both directions while accommodating
onlookers along the side?
4) It is not clear to us whether there is adequate space to safely accommodate users of the trails,
the children’s play area, and park spectators especially if there were to be larger events staged in
or near the park.
5) A portion of the site is part of an EPA Brownfields cleanup. As this will be redeveloped as a
public park, the cleanup standards to meet are residential rather than industrial. We want to
verify that the site will meet those requirements. Because the Aztlan Center is part of the
redevelopment, we assume that the standards have been met, but wished to verify as the project
moves forward.
We encourage city staff to evaluate these concerns.
Respectfully Submitted,
Luke Caldwell
Vice-Chair, Natural Resources Advisory Board
cc: Darin Atteberry, Lindsay Ex