Following is the proposed Parks and Recreation Section of the Plan:
SECTION 4
PARKS AND RECREATION
INVENTORY
Moscow and the surrounding Palouse area provide various recreational
opportunities for the enjoyment of its citizens. A well-developed,
wide-ranging city parks and recreational program coupled with nearby public
lands, private recreational businesses, and limited use of University of
Idaho facilities provide choices for the individual in search of
recreational needs and opportunities for Moscow's citizens through its
Recreation Plan and subsequent updates. This plan endorses the planning
concepts represented in the Moscow Parks and Recreation Plan Update of 1989.
As the city continues to grow, it is important that additional open areas
and parks be provided, and that recreational opportunities are offered to
meet the needs of its residents.
The City of Moscow, the Moscow School District, and Latah County provide
over 100 acres of recreation and open space within the city limits. The
University of Idaho has over 200 acres that are used to supplement the
recreational opportunities provided by the city. Additionally, Moscow owns
160 acres outside the city limits. It is leased to Better Living, Inc.
which supports an environmental park for the youth of Moscow. Figure 7 is a
generalized map showing the public park and recreation facilities in the
City of Moscow.
PUBLIC RECREATIONAL LAND IN MOSCOW
City of Moscow Acres
Almon Asbury Lieuallen Park 1.57
Bridge Street property .68
East City Park 7.04
East Gate Park 1.75
Eggan Youth Center grounds 1.47
Friendship Square .25
Anderson/Frontier Park 4.65
Ghormley Park 10.54
Kiwanis Park/Hordemann Pond 2.75
Mountainview Park 16.00
Jim Lyle/Rotary Park 2.14
Moser property 4.87
Deerfield property .15
Melgard property .13
Itani property .34
Moscow School District
Junior High School 16.94
Oylear property 9.00
Lena Whitmore Park 3.00
McDonald Grade School 8.60
Russell Grade School 1.12
West Park Grade School .78
Latah County Fair Board
Rodeo Arena 8.93
Lions Park 6.37
University of Idaho 230.9
(See Figure 7)
The majority of parks in Moscow are neighborhood parks which are planned and
designed to attract users from the immediate area. Neighborhood parks can
contain playground equipment, a multi-purpose slab, landscaping, grass,
water fountain, open area, benches, and a picnic area. This type of park
provides an opportunity for a moderate amount of recreation within walking
distance of all homes within the neighborhood, and enables active
neighborhood participation in planning the parks development.
Almon-Asbury-Lieuallen Park, Rotary Park, East City Park, Lena Whitmore
Park, are examples of neighborhood parks.
Another class of parks are community parks which house facilities of a
community-wide nature and significance. Ghormley Park contains the City's
swimming pool, two lighted softball fields, three lighted tennis courts,
playground equipment, and covered picnic shelter. Mountain View Park has
playground equipment, basketball court, playing fields for soccer and
baseball, and a picnic shelter. East City Park, considered a neighborhood
park, contains a stage for performances which is used during the summer
months as well as for the annual Renaissance Fair. This park also has a
basketball court, paved walkways, a volleyball court, a playground,
horseshoe pits, and formal gardens.
Mini-parks are designed to provide a limited population or a specific group
and may be developed to serve a specific, yet limited, need. A mini-park
can contain landscaping, a tot lot, benches, grass, and a multipurpose slab.
Friendship Square, located in the Central Business District, and Eastgate
Park are two of the City's existing mini-parks.
Another class of parks is the linear park. This is an area developed for
one or more types of activities. The mayoral-appointed Linear Park Task
Force (the Task Force) has addressed this concept extensively. While there
currently are no linear parks in Moscow, certain areas have been identified
as desirable for linear park development and the possibility of a linear
park exists in the near future as recreational development along Paradise
Creek expands. The Task Force has identified pathway development from
College Street to Highway 95 as a pilot project for the fiscal year 1996
budget. The Task Force has produced a recommendations document entitled A
Linear Park System for Moscow, dated 1995, and expands on this concept with
a Linear Park System Vision:
A community linked together physically and visually through a series of
linear parks and tree-lined connections designed for transportation,
recreation, and resource conservation enhancement purposes. East access is
provided for people of all ages to safely enjoy and learn about a variety of
natural settings typical of the Palouse landscape. The spine of this system
is the Paradise Creek and Railroad Corridor with links to Moscow's major
origin and destination points such as the University, parks, schools,
business areas, and neighborhoods. This concept of connections symbolizes
Moscow's commitment to growing as a community of distinct yet interconnected
neighborhoods and districts.
The University of Idaho has several types of athletic/recreational
facilities, the availability of which is limited by academic classes, major
events, and programs. Use of some facilities by the general public is
available only through purchase of a recreational pass or tickets for
performances. Indoor facilities include the Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center,
Memorial Gymnasium, Swim Center, and the Physical Education Building.
Included in these buildings are racquetball/handball courts, volleyball
courts, an adventure education room, basketball courts, two weight rooms,
dance studios, locker rooms, and multiple use areas. The Student Union
Building has a bowling alley, pool tables, and video arcade games. Outdoor
recreational opportunities are available through the use of Wicks Fields,
the 18-hole golf course, a 400-meter track, tennis courts, a 9-hole frisbee
disk course, and two arboretums. The University of Idaho also offers other
cultural opportunities at the Pritchard Art Gallery, the University
Auditorium, and the Hartung Theater.
The City of Moscow operates the Eggan Youth Center adjacent to the junior
high school, which provides ping pong tables, foosball tables, other games
and television after school. Administrative offices for the Parks and
Recreation Department are located at the center and the building is used for
meeting space. The Community Center in the Old Post Office is also
available for public gatherings. The public library system in Latah County
is headquartered in the Moscow downtown area. Several commercial
recreational businesses operate in town, including a bowling alley, seven
movie theaters, a fitness center, and a historical museum. In addition to
the facilities located within the City, there are also a number of
facilities available within reasonable travel time of Moscow.
The Moscow Department of Parks and Recreation operates a year-round
recreation program that offers a variety of activities for nominal fees for
the participant. Many of these activities are coordinated with the Moscow
schools. The schools offer a number of extracurricular recreational
activities for students. Recreational and crafts courses are available
through the University of Idaho, and private clubs offer many other programs
and events.
ANALYSIS OF NEEDS
Historically, much of Moscow's parkland has been acquired through gifts or
as a result of excess City lands. Although such acquisition has resulted in
an attractive and heavily used park system in Moscow, it can lead to
odd-sized parcels that are not practical for use and in unequal distribution
of parkland throughout the City. A parkland dedication ordinance was
adopted by the City Council on November 18, 1985, requiring land developers
to donate parkland or payment for future parkland development as part of
their development costs to enhance planned recreational opportunities. Some
landowners, in a creative approach to parkland dedication, have negotiated
with the City to pre-dedicate acreage for parks for entire parcels which
then allows the City to develop the park and increase the marketability of
the surrounding parcel.
Several of the older residential areas of the City contain little or no
parkland and little vacant land is available for parkland acquisition.
Scattered mini-parks might be developed in these areas until opportunities
to acquire land for a neighborhood park become available.
Community and neighborhood parks must be furnished with service facilities.
Adequate parking lots, restrooms, drinking fountains, and benches are
needed. Where facilities are available for organized activities,, seating
for observers should be available. In children's playgrounds, seating for
parents should also be provided.
Parks and recreational activities must be developed to serve the needs of
all neighborhood residents. While they may be used most often by younger
children for active pursuits, they are also needed by older children and
adults for more passive use. Walking is an activity often enjoyed by
adults, particularly through interesting and attractive areas. Passive uses
are more difficult to accommodate when park facilities are combined with
schools.
The most recent report of the Moscow Parks and Recreation Commission and a
citizens' committee recommends that a public swimming pool with an attached
multipurpose facility be constructed to meet the needs of this community.
Although there is consensus on the facility, the cost of development
continues to be an area of concern. The provision of indoor recreational
space is considered to be a major priority of the Parks and Recreation
Commission and Department.
Additional recommendations mentioned in the Moscow Parks and Recreation
Commission's Plan Update, 1989, include acquisition of abandoned railroad
rights-of-way and recreational development along Paradise Creek. In
addition, space for playfields is still of importance.
There are a large number of bicycle riders in the community due in part to
the presence of the University. A recent survey indicated that many
bicyclists use their bikes for transportation and recreational purposes.
While the scope of the survey was limited, it showed that most bicyclists
use their bikes during all but winter. Those surveyed indicated that
safety, distance, time constraints, insufficient carrying capacity, and
weather were the biggest obstacles to bicycling, and that local government
could provide more bike paths and lanes (specifically on the south side of
6th Street), more bike racks (covered racks preferred), and emphasize
education and enforcement of regulations. The hilly topography and heavy
traffic on city streets create obstacles to the bike rider. Few roads lead
out into the country from Moscow that are adequate for bicycling. As state
and federal highway programs begin to include bicycle paths within new and
rebuilt designs, greater opportunity for bike routes for recreational and
transportation purposes will emerge. A bicycle plan for Moscow that
embodies much of the thoughts of the survey will better plan for bicycle
facilities and will set priorities for implementation.
GOAL
To provide a year round park and recreation program in Moscow that provides
open space and recreational opportunities in all neighborhoods for citizens
of all ages and differing physical abilities.
OBJECTIVES
1. Maintain existing facilities and provide additional facilities to support
a varied recreational program.
2. Provide at least one neighborhood park within each neighborhood of
Moscow, when feasible.
3. Take advantage of natural features in locating and planning new parks.
4. Work toward the development of a Linear Park system as set forth in the
1995 Linear Park Task Force Recommendations document.
5. Provide adequate accessory facilities in parks to accommodate the needs
of park users.
6. Maintain and expand the existing recreation program.
7. Improve opportunities for recreational bicycling and walking.
8. Continue to emphasize shared use of facilities where possible.
9. Construct aquatic and indoor recreation facilities to meet needs of
community.
POLICIES AND IMPLEMENTATION
1. Parkland should be provided within each neighborhood of the City.
2. Land acquisition for new parks or recreational facilities should continue
to be pursued by the City through its parkland dedication ordinance and City
capital funds budgeted provision.
3. In areas where parkland is needed and natural features exist which lend
themselves to active or passive recreation, the City should acquire this
land for that purpose.
4. Public dedication of areas judged by the City as valuable for
recreational or scenic purposes should be encouraged.
5. The City should continue to work with other agencies to develop
cooperative park and recreation programs.
6. The current parkway along Paradise Creek should be enlarged to parallel
the length of the creek in Moscow and recreational use of the parkway and
adjacent areas should be developed where possible.
7. Areas for passive recreation should be provided within all city parks.
8. Supporting facilities should be available in city parks including
restrooms, drinking fountains, benches, bicycle racks, and adequate parking.
9. Parks and recreational areas should be protected from incompatible
developments on adjacent properties.
10. Bicycle routes and facilities, in addition to those developed as part of
the Linear Park, should be developed in Moscow for both recreational and
transportation purposes.
11. Service organizations should be encouraged to undertake park development
as organization projects within planned guidelines.
12. It is the policy of the city to conform to ADA requirements and policies
in its Parks and Recreation activities and programs.
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