Exploring Improvements to John Howell Park
By David Brandenberger
Completing the major structural improvements around the volleyball court at John Howell (see below for a history, along with its funding and execution) has provided us a chance to step back and take a look at how the projects have worked out and what else we can do to improve the park.
As regular users know, a storm the week before Summerfest brought down a large sweetgum at the edge of the upper level, right at the sidewalk entrance along Virginia Avenue. The falling tree also did a significant amount of damage to the adjacent shrubs and other plantings, including taking out two crepe myrtles along the street. While some of these shrubs will recover given time, others will not.
Like all good landscape architects, Peter Frawley sees the results as an opportunity rather than a challenge. He proposes leaving the expansive open space along the street (using some of the area for a small rain garden to handle runoff) and framing a new entranceway with a native beech tree near the old sweetgum and adding Virginia pines opposite it to the left. (Currently – and surprisingly – there are no pines anywhere in the park.)
Peter suggests a new bench adjacent to the walkway in front of the pines, along with the rehab of some of the damaged shrubs, augmented by some new infill plantings.
We also are considering a new wrought iron fence at the rear of the southern edge of the park (adjacent to De Leon) to fill a gap caused by the loss of a different tree a year ago. This is the only unfenced section along that edge, all of which abuts single-family residential. In the same very shady central section of the park, Peter envisions a 4’ high fence along the edge of the hillside separating the upper and lower levels. This will end shortcutting between the levels (a significant factor in creating the now-repaired gully that was there), as well as facilitating the removal of the invasive English ivy and its replacement with native ferns.
Across from Inman, the walls and fences around the Arcadia volleyball courts have functioned very well. Their main goal – ending the movement of sand to the street – has been met. We are still watching the slow migration of some sand from the courts toward Virginia. It will never reach the street, and the volleyballers rake it back periodically, but we are examining some additional measures to stabilize it before we finish planting inside the Arcadia corner.
Possible solutions – still under review – include a new 2’ granite knee wall (matching the other walls) on the north side of volleyball court #1. There may be other more subtle options, but there will be a rain garden on the back of the park sign to accommodate both stormwater and drainage from the court’s shower.
One of several new bike racks for John Howell will be along Arcadia, along with additional landscaping outside the granite walls. A small amount of stormwater is accumulating on Arcadia during large events (as it did before). We may explore with Public Works the practicality of letting some of it flow onto a small new rain garden along the street, outside the drip lines of the trees.
(We also learned this week that the city is planning to build new bulb-outs along both southern corners of .Arcadia and Virginia as part of the Safe Routes to School program. Those will not affect our work.)
Other contemplated updates include more infill plantings near Barnett and Virginia, relocating an existing park sign and doggy bag dispenser so they are both less obtrusive and more visible, a new bike rack in the area, completing the brick walkways, and resolving the problematic fenced-in area protruding from the middle and back section of the park, which has periodically accommodated overnight sleepers.
Drawings on the improvements suggested by Peter Frawley may be found here: