Ankeny park system will add 'wow' factors

Mon October 04 2010
Posted Oct 5, 2010
2,495

Ankeny, IA Parks in the Prairie Trail development are being designed to improve water quality and slow erosion, as well as provide recreation for residents, city staff members said during a council tour last week. City officials stopped at Promenade Park and then drove through Chautauqua and Vintage parks. All three are just off Southwest State Street, with Promenade adjacent to portions of the planned town center and Chautauqua and Vintage on the west side of State. The other two parks in Prairie Trail are Precedence and Dean. Council members Wade Steenhoek and Dave Kissinger took part in the tour, along with City Manager Carl Metzger and Mayor Steve Van Oort. Todd Redenius, parks director, and Jolee Belzung, municipal utilities director, showed officials the improvements already made at the three parks and shared details on those yet to come. Two man-made lakes in the development - North Lake in Vintage Park and South Lake in Promenade Park - along with wetlands and creek improvements will help control runoff and erosion, Belzung said. Saylor Creek continues south from Promenade Park. Other features, such as large boulders and possibly mowed paths in the native grasses, will provide access to help visitors "really get in touch with the water," Belzung said. Vintage Park's North Lake is stocked with fish, and the site includes a fishing pier. Redenius said a bridge is planned over South Lake in Promenade Park, and designs for that site include a shelter and open-air amphitheater. Once the basics are created at Promenade, future phases will focus on trails, natural and man-made playscapes, the bridge and other features. Redenius said the shelter would be "very visible from the road, a real iconic structure." The open-air amphitheater would be on the east side of South Lake, which is adjacent to the town center area, known as The District. Redenius said officials expect restaurants to be developed on the amphitheater side of the lake. The west side is adjacent to State Street. The bridge and the trail system planned for Promenade Park will be key to its development, Redenius said. "People are always drawn to water." Money for the Prairie Trail parks mainly comes from a partnership between the city and developer DRA Properties. Grants will be pursued to assist with some project components, Redenius said. The lakes were created with grant money, Belzung said, and the Saylor Creek improvements were paid for with grant and city money, Officials are weighing how best to link the parks on both sides of State Street so that walkers, runners and bicyclists may safety cross the busy road. That will be especially be important, Redenius said, because Chautauqua Park is expected to include the intersection of three major trail systems - High Trestle, Neal Smith and Gay Lea Wilson. Chautauqua is on the former site of an industrial lagoon and landfill. Belzung said the cap placed over the landfill before it was covered with earth means that large trees or structures with footings cannot be placed on top of the rise, but other landscaping would be permitted. Redenius said while no decisions have been made, the hilltop would make a nice spot for an interactive site with a variety of natural vegetation, similar to Reiman Gardens in Ames. Another area of Chautauqua Park could offer an all-inclusive playground, he said, which would serve people with cognitive as well as physical disabilities. Redenius said the water management projects, natural features and grasses used at the Prairie Trail parks are expected to also be used in the Woodland Reserve Greenway, a project in the planning stages on the city's far north side.