May 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 62

AT L A N T A

Design rendering produced by HGOR, Atlanta

Boone Park West will feature green infrastructure, designed to manage stormwater runoff
to combat neighborhood flooding.

2002, 160 families were flooded out of
their homes - and the land basically sat
vacant after the city helped relocate those
families, " explains George Dusenbury,
Georgia state director for TPL. Flooding remains a persistent problem for this
community, which is also dealing with
polluted runoff and sewer overflows.
In early 2018, TPL broke ground on
the site where those homes once stood.
The park design includes a playground,
splashpad and basketball courts. Crews
will also construct a 1.5-acre pond,
which will, in combination with other
sustainable elements, collect up to 10million gallons of stormwater.
Dusenbury adds, " This is a collaboration
between the City of Atlanta Department of
Parks and Recreation, Department of Watershed Management, the Trust for Public
Land and a nonprofit called, the National
Monuments Foundation. " What's more,
the National Monuments Foundation will
honor Civil Rights icons by adding statues
and monuments of those individuals who
lived or worked in the neighborhood.
" And what this park is going to do is
it's going to help reduce and eliminate
the flooding in that community by creating green infrastructure and incorporat60

Parks & Recreation

ing that into the park, " he says.
For the project, TPL raised $13 million,
Atlanta's Department of Parks and Recreation put in $1 million, and the Department of Watershed Management pledged
$22 million. " Our goal is to complete
Phase One before the Super Bowl in February of 2019, " Dusenbury notes.
Has the Cook Park project led to displacement of residents? " Thirty years
ago, there were 50,000 people living in
those communities around Cook Park.
Today, there are 15,000 and so our goal
is to retain those 15,000 people, who are
already living there, " says Dusenbury.
He adds that TPL is addressing concerns
about displacement by working with the
Westside Future Fund, an organization
that helps to revitalize communities by
making investments that improve public
safety, public schools and public spaces.
Piedmont Park
Considered the " crown jewel " of Atlanta's parks system, Piedmont Park is currently the city's largest park and is supported by Piedmont Park Conservancy,
a private-public partnership.
Mark Banta, CEO and president of
Piedmont Park Conservancy, says the

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organization raises approximately $3.2
million a year that goes toward maintenance and general upkeep of and programming in the park. Since 1989, " we
have raised and invested $66 million in
capital and physical improvements to the
park and, basically, renovating all the existing structures in the park, " he adds.
" I think both the Conservancy and the
city recognize the importance of good, regular communications and interface so that
we make the city look good for what they
do in relationship to maintaining and taking care of this beautiful park, " says Banta.
In December 2017, the city announced
a $100 million expansion of Piedmont
Park and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens,
which includes the purchase of property
located at the corner of Piedmont Road
and Monroe Drive.
According to a statement by DPL:
" The expansion project will include a
connection to the Atlanta BeltLine, improved pedestrian trails and access to
Piedmont Park, additional open green
space and forested land. "
Parks Make All the Difference
With all the projects concurrently underway throughout the city of Atlanta, it's
clear that the Department of Parks and
Recreation, community leaders, nonprofit partners and Atlantans have an important stake in all of it. Atlanta is creating
a broad blueprint for how park development and revitalization can transform the
city as a whole and make a dramatic impact on the lives of its inhabitants.
As Banta puts it: " I believe with every
fiber in my being that parks and green
space are the absolute keys to our survival as a society. "
Vitisia Paynich is a California-based Freelance
Writer for Parks and Recreation magazine.

May 2018 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2018 - Parks & Recreation