The committee rating process has concluded after many meetings and site visits, and the Elm Street location was top-rated for a location of the new Brattleboro Skatepark, according to the draft minutes of the Skatepark Selection Committee.
Here are their draft results:
5. Final rating process
It was decided that the scoring would be done by without using committee member names. There was a short discussion about the criteria not all having the same weight. Members then gave their total scores for each of the 10 locations and the numbers were tallied giving these results (a perfect score for a site would be 2,310 requiring all 7 members to give all the criteria a 10):
1st Elm Street (1,819)
2nd Crowell Lot (1,518)
3rd Living Memorial Park by the pool (1,458)
4th BAMS (1,433)
5th Living Memorial Park upper hill (1,428)
6th The Common (1,373)
7th Elliot Street Park (1,370)
8th Living Memorial Park above memorial garden(1,289)
9th Fort Dummer Field (1,220)
10th Cedar Street (1,006)
After the tallying of scores, the committee was questioned as to when public opinion would be heard in reference to the top sites. It was explained that the interim town manager, Patrick Moreland, wanted the upcoming Park and Recreation meeting to be very well publicized expressly for the purpose of hearing public opinion. It was then determined that presenting the sites at the next Parks and Recreation meeting on May 12th was too short a time to accomplish that goal and the date was moved to May 22nd. Carol stated the discussion of the top sites at that meeting and the following Select Board meeting would give the public a chance to weigh in on the choices. It was also mentioned that the design process phase would allow for public input. Carol suggested that people near the site locations help spread the word of the two upcoming meetings to their neighbors. She would supply meeting information to them.
Elm Street seems even better
Elm Street seems even better than Cromwell, that looks like a great spot. I’m liking the go-forward energy I’m getting from the project these days. So much better than the depressing messages I’ve seen on Facebook. Now about that $100k needed for the build (or whatever the # is).
Living Memorial Park
I will comment that if you throw out the extreme High and Low scores for each location evaluated, which is fair considering there obviously appeared to be a dramatic spread between each member’s score amounting to as much as the equivalent of 4) 10 point criteria categories on the list at times, or in other words having the gravity of 40 points difference as correlates above or below the next ranking score for just one site assessed against criteria, Living Memorial Park and Crowell come out exactly tied for second at 1060. Taking this measure when tallying totals is not uncommon practice when trying to achieve a more accurate representation and general consensus of the results.
Putting the skate park where they are
I was just downtown yesterday, at Experienced Goods on Flat Street, and as always, there was an army of young people there, soaking up the Spring weather. Some kids were playing frisbee. Some others were messing around on skateboards, nothing new and nothing bothersome about it. But I did think on my way home that since young people have always hung out downtown, and especially on Flat Street, that Elm Steet a block away makes a lot of sense as the place to locate the skate park. It’s visible, frequently patrolled, and it seems to be in the general area of where they want to be.
At Last
I’ve rooted for the Elm Street lot all along. It’s near NEYT, the B&G Club, and there’s even a store nearby. When I first moved to Bratt I lived across the street from it and always wondered why something better wasn’t done with that space. So few cars parked there and it’s underutilized.
Of course, recommendations and choices aren’t to be confused with what the SB actually will do.
Torturous
Yeah, Elm Street, perfect…godzilla almighty get it over with already before the kids turn salt and pepper…we got money in the budget to burn.
Skate Park lacks support of Selectboard Chair
I recall reading in the budget discussions of the last several weeks that David could not support any design at any location for concerns of long term maintenance costs. Or some similar concern.
I’ve watched several skate parks (Davis, CA & Ithaca NY) that seem to be well cared for (Witness the playground paint job by BASIC) without a lot of town effort. I hope the new park includes green space or buffers, which would need to be cared for.
Kids in Bratt need a safe place to exercise, and if you don’t think skating is exercise you should watch serious skaters for a bit. Coordination, flexibility, practice, persistence – all skills to encourage.
So come on David, give the democratic due process a chance.
Raids on the Unspeakable
On this pursuit many of us, despite precautions, have stepped on the rake more times than a looney tune cartoon. Mostly it’s to spare supporters more futility and pain that I voice these notions now.
This was the location I pursued for the portable skate sculptures in 2011, and was shut down (by a different administration), with vehemence, for a variety of reasons which still hold. These items will need to be addressed.
-The VT Transit busses park, and idle, many hours of the day in this lot between runs. They will have to be relocated. Where?
-What’s the parking revenue for the lot for both permit, and meters? If this amount needs to be offset, it is unfair to make the park users have to fill that gap. When complete, to be successful, this must be a no fee facility.
-Lacking natural buffers, and having close proximity to both a busy intersection, and a hill, a final design will have to sculpt the space to make a park somewhat insulated.
One final point, which for me serves as a gesture of good faith, and an indicator of the seriousness of the town to see this done. If Elm St. Lot is indeed to be the location, clear the back half, cordon it off with jersey barriers, and open it up for skating immediately. There is no good reason that the space cannot be used now as a flat ground safe area to congregate and skate.
Th…th..th…that’s all folks…for now.
Excellent Points
…..especially the idea of designating a current skaters use for the parking lot area immediately and for the interim until the necessary funds can be raised, homemade ramps and such can be part of the mix for now. Please submit your (Spinoza) suggestion to the Skate Park Site Committee at skateparkideas@brattleboro.org in time for their next meeting on the 22nd when they will be finalizing their recommendations to be presented to the Recs & Park Board then onto the select board.
Speaking of busy
Speaking of busy intersections, concerning this issue at the Crowell Lot site and it’s grim track record to follow was no where near properly addressed/or examined for set back and it’s exposure to inherent traffic hazards experienced on a daily basis. Skaters not using conventional methods of travel on sidewalks when coming and going are put in the direct line of fire at the Western Ave Union Hill (without sidewalk or safe crosswalk) intersection notorious here in town as proven lethal, chocking up the fatalities and multiple other near misses or collisions which hardly go unscathed.
In comparison, the Elm Street location is offset with stop signs, wide open to regular patrol, maintains speeds of 25mph or under and experiences significant lull time, could install speed bumps, where as Crowell Park can witness a Logging truck charging/steaming into town to make a timely drop off at some 40 – 50 miles an hours at any given moment with zero swerve allowance or response time, that won’t be able to stop on a dime or whatever else it happens to flatten inbound.
Question
Just to be clear, is the Elm Street site the actual parking lot across from Dotties, or is it the part that has the creepy buildings in it? Either way, I am kind of excited about it, I just want to have a clear picture in my head of the spot!
Here
http://bratskateartspots.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/selectboard-set-to-drop-in-on-bsas/
Elm
Not across from transportation center. It’s at the base of the Elm Street hill, about a block over and currently used for parking.
I always thought Crowell was an okay location, but Elm Street was an excellent location. The committee seems to have reached the same conclusion.
I like the spinoza suggestion of, if officially selected, opening it up immediately. Using a space prior to building can help inform the design process. It might be good to get familiar with light, shadows, sounds, line of sight, and so on so the final version will be positioned perfectly.
Another thought, once built, is to use a box similar to the parking ticket collection boxes to allow for people to make donations at the skatepark for ongoing maintenance.