Event Oriented Park = FAIL! Urban Park = SUCCESS!
With a mere $2.8 million of our tax dollars, downtown's Centennial Plaza could get a makeover that would turn it from an "Event Oriented Park" (Bad) into an Urban Park (Yea!).
The details and intricacies of how, exactly, you turn an "event-oriented" park into an "urban" park is best left to those who design, but apparently archways are involved.
And not just any archways, either.
Lighted archways! Because, you see, studies have apparently found that people don't visit parks unless they have archways that they can walk under.
"The biggest feature would be a super structure," [The Proposing Consultant] said. He proposes a serious of aluminum archways that pedestrians can walk through. "It would have lighted rails. And it'd create a warm and receptive space that would attract somewhat of a nightlife."
June bugs and cicadas are night life, I suppose. And coming to the park at night to watch them drown in the water feature wouldn't be any less entertaining than minor league baseball.
To be sure, transforming an underperforming event oriented park into a thriving urban park involves other things, too. Like moving trees from one place to another. And grass.
Plans call for removing some of the trees for visibility from the streets, some of the structured seating near the amphitheater area, some of the grass area along Texas Avenue and part of the water feature. However, the grass area would be extended on the Wall Street side while other water features would be enhanced or added elsewhere in the park.The park would also feature a small stage that could be expanded if needed.
So to encourage more use by the public we are going to have an expandable stage...but we are reducing audience seating? Well, duh! We don't want it to be an events oriented park anymore.
We are shooting for a full blown, totally genuine authentic urban park feel. Archways! Trees there, not here. Grass there, not here. Big stage. Small audience.
And to make sure that no detail is ignored in creating the most authentic urban park experience possible, the MDC is currently recruiting out-of-state hobos to come sleep in it at night.
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8 Comments
The article said "urban park" like one in Chicago.
Does "urban" equate to "cruisy"?
Otto: What if it was to be an interactive fountain? It would be okay then, right?
And for those that haven't been watching the internet of late, the word "Fail" is now also a noun.
I have seen pictures of a serious aluminum arch in Missouri. Would ours be like that?
McDonalds does serious arches, though colorful. Would one of them make it a "McPark?" Or would it take a covey of them?
These arches ,while large, are not ST.Louis sized but would probably be needed to be painted in a facility large enough to hold..say..aircraft.
But nobody does aircraft painting in Midland...
Hey ! Wait a minute here !
Id be for a fountain thats like a confetti canon that shoots out wad of cash to every passer by... for lunch money or stimulating the economy. Lets throw in a Tumbleweed garden with a simulated constant dust storm. Or maybe they could tear down the original building that everybody wanted tore down and make some parking for jury duty participants that have to hike past the "Event oriented park" from 3 blocks away parking just in time for all the courts to be moved to the old heritage building. But hey, you won't have to dodge a tree.
I voted FOR Steff Sparkman for mayor as she actually seemed to be financially conservative and had interesting connections which would help the city of Midland . That said...
Steff had this thing about fountains which drives me crazy . She quit talking up the idea when many of you here agreed we didn't need one and this is a DESERT and WATER comes dear . Now we have others who want to turn us into another Las Vegas ,with it's many flowing fountains but without a very large and deep lake nearby to draw this water from . Nor do we have rivers close at hand to dam up and MAKE a lake ..aren't ALL major lakes in Texas man-made ?
Now we're going to spend almost 3 mil (Bet it's more..they always give us the low-ball figure..BETCHA ! )to redo an antiquated and useless 23 year old park to a vibrant and fulfilling family gathering garden spot for the 21st century complete with those damnable
fountains and ARCHES .
Romantic walks at night under these arches will re instill in one and all the first time they ever sunk a tooth in a Big Mac . Children will still be loved and respected in Centennial plaza if they are accompanied by a responsible adult or guardian and will sit quietly. No pets , skateboards ,teenagers or women in slacks allowed .( This to put forth Midlands best foot in luring future businesses to the cit..er Downtown.)
These elected officials of ours sure didn't wait long for the rest of us to erase the "Downtown Midland Debacle " from our short term memories .
Here's a question . Did we hire a consultant to tell us of a NEED for a park downtown , or did we think of this all by ourselves.
Here we go again..BAH !