Eliza Pool Park Master Site Plan

Eliza Pool Park Master Site Plan Heather Sullivan North Carolina State University PRT 451(001)

Table of Contents Executive Summary.3 Regional Analysis...4 Site Analysis...5 Physical Assessment 6 Program Development.7 Fitting Program Facilities to the Site....9 Functional Relationship Diagram...10 Estimated Cost and Funding Sources....11 Final Site Plan...12 References..13 2

Executive Summary Eliza Pool Park is located in southwest Raleigh, North Carolina. This facility consists of a large multipurpose field, volleyball court, handball area, picnic/grill area, playground and walking trail. This park has definitely lost some of its aesthetic appeal from the amount of use and lack of maintenance over the years. With that being said, a lot of the families from the surrounding neighborhoods still come out to use the park. Although there are lots of outdoor activities to enjoy, it lacks indoor facilities for inclement weather. Currently, the main portion of the park is a large multipurpose field that is primarily used for soccer by children who frequent the park. Throughout the rest of the park are various facilities that could benefit from maintenance and upgrading. Our goal is to create a site that will address these two issues of enhancing the underdeveloped field and improving the various mistreated facilities. Our goal is to create a site that is appealing to the eye and a clean park where one can go to spend quality family time and leisure exercise. We are proposing a plan, which includes painting and marking the multipurpose field into a regulation size soccer field, adding proper coal disposal areas to the grill area, adding trash cans to the picnic shelter areas and regular upkeep of the overall facility. The improvements to the multipurpose/soccer fields will allow for a fun place for the younger children to stay active and interact with their fellow community. Enhancing and upgrading all the other surrounding facilities will allow for a getaway for families and community members to come out and take a break from the stressful real world. The new Eliza Pool Park will be a fun and inviting place for families and individuals to come hangout and get some exercise. 3

Regional Analysis Eliza Pool Park is located at 1600 Fayetteville St in Southwest Raleigh. This park was built in 1996 and spans 6.2 acres. Ever since Eliza Pool Park was built it has been used by the members of the surrounding community in many different ways. The facility contains a multipurpose field, jungle gym, volleyball court, picnic area, handball court and paved trail. Eliza Pool Park is located closely to North Carolina Victim Assistance Network. Just beyond the perimeter of the park is an old water treatment plant that is no longer in use. A quarter of a mile down the road from Eliza Pool Park is a city bus stop located at the corner of Fayetteville Street and Prospect Street, which allows for useful transportation for nearby communities. There are not really any other parks in a close vicinity to Eliza Pool Park, but there is Rocky Branch trail, which could pose as competition to the park if people decide to use that trail rather than the one located within the park. Before Eliza Pool Park was built, Eliza Pool School was located at this site from 1924-1980, which was named after Eliza Anne Pool who was born in Oxford. Eliza Pool taught in Raleigh City schools from 1886 to 1926 and made a huge impact on the Raleigh school systems. Because of her impact, the City of Raleigh decided to name this community park after her. This 4

park is located right on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh and is a fun place for the younger kids of the surrounding community to get together and play soccer. Lower middle class families form the community adjacent to this facility closer to the lower end of the spectrum that lives in urban style neighborhoods. According to areavibes.com, Southwest Raleigh is predominantly Caucasian (54.65%). African Americans account for 32.24 percent of the population, Asian (5.61%), Native American (.50%), mixed race (3.23%) and other races account to the remaining 3.76 percent. The houses that were in close vicinity to Eliza Pool Park were a diverse combination of homes in the area. Southwest Raleigh has a population of 18, 601. More than half of the households are family households and 43.6 percent are non-family households. The median age of residents in the community is 40.7 years old. 76.9 percent of this population is males while 23.1 percent are females. This park is a known staple to the community and families living in Southwest Raleigh. Site Analysis We visited the site at 10:15 a.m., which is a time when children are in school and parents are typically at work. During the time frame we were at the park, there were less than five park visitors. All of which were recreational, yet 5

there was very little use to the amenities provided. Three participants who were walking used the track surrounding the park. One young girl was playing on the playground while her mother's car was broken down nearby. There was also a stray dog that was roaming the park, which could potentially be a hazard for families and young children. The recreational use of the facility was on the playground and track. The volleyball court, swings and picnic area were not being utilized during our observation. The poor amount of visitors suggested that park goers primarily used the park during the evenings. Walking occurred on the park s track by three individuals. Also, one young girl utilized the play equipment. Besides the playground area for small children, there was just a big field that has no specific purpose. We did hear from a neighbor of the park that some of the neighborhood children utilized the field to play soccer on the weekends. Physical Assessment The site lacked various aspects that a park in an urban neighborhood would have. There was a large meadow of grass that was not used for recreational purposes. There was no real organization of equipment to yield for any type of structured play. There was a part of the field marked off for grass rehabilitation from over usage that took away from the recreation availability of the park. However, the only game organized to play at the park was Volleyball. There were marked areas on the pavement for games like Four Corners, but the game area was extremely close to the covered area where the picnic tables were located. The Four Corners game set up and the picnic table were inappropriately placed. Perhaps a soccer field needs to be developed on the grounds as per reviews state that Hispanic children often use the field for 6

soccer purposes. This would call for the implementation of soccer goals along with marking off the field to meet soccer regulations. Our hydrology assessment of the location can be illustrated in our soil map. Most of the water will run off into the field, being the lowest point of the park. The highest point is that land in which the playground is placed. Because the fields consist of areas for recreational play, the runoff may cause too much excess water ponding making it not capable for play. The land should include a system in which the water would run past the field, to a lower location, to ensure that the land meets the needs for play. While observing the topographic aspects of the park we found that many of the trees were located in appropriate positions. There is a large oak tree located close to the playground equipment that provides shade to the participants. It seems that many of the trees did not have to be cut down or relocated for this park to exist. Preserving the natural elements of the park while incorporating them into the park planning was done so successfully. Program Development Unfortunately, Eliza Pool Park lacks structure. In order for the community to experience the full functionality of the park we plan to add structure by enhancing the activities that are already in place. If program enhancements are put into place, it would better serve the neighborhood and the surrounding communities. Eliza Pool Park will be a general use neighborhood park with very low maintenance. As a result, there will be minimal park staff; staff will only be at the park during set hours throughout the week to distribute play equipment (i.e. soccer balls). 7

Since there are no parks in close walking distance that offer the amenities of Eliza Pool Park, it is important that the park keeps the current programs in place. Our primary focus is to promote health and wellness amongst everyone. Creating a park that assists with promoting health and wellness will aid in reducing the obesity rate in the area. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Among North Carolina s adults 18 and over, 64.9 percent were overweight and 27.8 percent were obese (2012). We also want our playground to assist with the development of psychomotor, cognitive and affective skills amongst young children. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Among North Carolina s adolescents in grades 9-12 14.6 percent were overweight and 13.4 percent were obese; children ages two through five were 16.2 percent were overweight and 15.5 percent were obese. Programs that we have in place to promote health and wellness include: volleyball, soccer, a walking trail and a playground. Our projected sand volleyball court and soccer field will both be both be regulation sized. The playground will have a bigger jungle gym that will have monkey bars, a climbing frame and multiple slides. In close vicinity of the jungle gym there will be a swing set and Weeble Wobbles as well. The varieties of programs are to ensure that all park goers can enjoy the park. The gazebo area can be used for picnics and cookouts, which in turn can stimulate neighborhood togetherness and interactions. Parents who are monitoring their children can also utilize the gazebo as a sitting area. We will have two grills in close proximity of the picnic and gazebo area so that families and friends can enjoy the scenery of Eliza Pool Park. In efforts to enhance Eliza Pool Park s appearance without disturbing the natural environment, we plan to do minimal work on the landscaping of the park. This will allow it to blend in with the Capital Area Greenway System and the greenery surrounding the park. 8

Beautifying the park and adding more to the landscape will make the park more inviting and pleasurable. Fitting Program Facilities to Site As a group, we decided the first thing we would do to Eliza Pool Park is to completely remodel the multipurpose field into a full functioning regulation sized soccer field. From our research early on, we discovered that the children who frequent this park enjoy playing pickup games of soccer. However, the grassy area they play on is not in poor condition and proper soccer goals are non-existent. With the remodeling of the field comes a regulation-sized area of grass, paint to mark the perimeter and the goalkeepers box along with a tip off circle. After the paint is properly placed on the field, two soccer goals will be added to each end in the same position. The next major thing we noticed when visiting Eliza Pool Park was the amount of litter and unkemptness of the entire facility. We noticed that the picnic shelter and grill area were especially dirty and contained the most trash aside from the rest of the park. This type of issue makes people steer away from normal park activities like picnics because that is not the type of environment one wants to be cooking or eating in. With that being said, we would like to add three large trashcans with lids that will surround the picnic tables that are under the sheltered area. The lids will prevent animals from getting into them and either becoming stuck, or even bring more trash out. The trashcans will be placed in easily accessible and visible areas so people do not have an excuse to leave their trash lying around or throw it on the ground. Once those trashcans are in place, the grill area will be power washed and cleaned to get rid of all the 9

encrusted coal that has built up over time. After the power washing is complete, two proper coal disposal bins will be placed in the grill area to prevent this issue from happening again in the future. Having two separate bins one for trash and one for coals, this also can help become a habit to recycle to keep Eliza Pool Park as beautiful and as natural looking as we can. Lastly, we plan to eliminate the handball area that is painted onto the pathway between the gazebo and the playground. The handball game is inconveniently placed because it interferes with the path through the middle of the gazebo and walkway. Overall, the handball area interrupts the flow of the park. Although this area will be taken away, it does not eliminate the opportunity for park visitors to play handball games. One could easily draw foursquare onto the sidewalk with chalk in a less traffic prone area of the park. This change could help with some of the safety concerns that some people who are occupying the picnic area may have in regards to flying objects. Functional Relationship Diagram 10

Estimated Cost and Funding Source 11

For our budget portion of what we wanted to do, as a group was mostly just to fix up all of those cosmetic issues we saw at Eliza Pool Park. The constraints would be from someone in the City of Raleigh going to the park to install the grills, trashcans and field equipment. Since it is mostly installations and cosmetic fixes different phases would be inappropriate. Since the park is in the city there isn t much need for us to ask for more land. If the runners want a longer track to run on one of the benefits of Eliza Pool Park is it has a greenway trail that runs right beside it. Final Site Plan 12

References (2003, ). Raleigh, north carolina. Retrieved from City-Data website: http://www.city-data.com/city/raleigh-north-carolina.html#b (2011, November 9). Parks in the creative district: Eliza pool park. Retrieved from SouthWestRaleigh website: http://southwestraleigh.com/2011/11/parks-in-thecreative-district-eliza-pool-park/ (2012, February 12). Soccer teams are destroying the eliza poole park. Retrieved fromseeclickfixwebsite:http://en.seeclickfix.com/issues/304336-soccer-teams-aredestroying-ed-the-eliza-poole-park (14, September 22). Eliza Pool Park. Retrieved from City of Raleigh website: http://www.raleighnc.gov/parks/content/parksrec/articles/parks/elizapool. html (14, January 10). Tell us how you use the parks and recreation system. Retrieved from Your Parks Your Future website: http://www.yourparksyourfuture.com Benches / Chaise Lounger. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.uline.com/bl_8776/benches-chaise-lounger?keywords=bench Concrete Drinking Fountain - 15Dia x 34H. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.theparkcatalog.com/drinking-fountains/concrete-drinking-fountains/concretedrinking-fountain15dia-x-34h-154-1327?gclid=cj0keqiaaujbrdqj772vpgfgoobeiqazwazukgxedj2c2ku7urv_pdvk_evrzi5d1gccerndj- DVjQaAgcY8P8HAQ Dog Waste System. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.uline.com/bl_8262/dog-waste-system?keywords=disposal Metal Outdoor Receptacle. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.uline.com/bl_8809/metal-outdoor-receptacle?keywords=outdoor Trash Cans North Carolina's Response to Obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/stateprograms/fundedstates/north_carolina.html Outdoor Park Grill. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.uline.com/product/detail/h-4419/outdoor-furniture/outdoor-park-grill Portable Economy Soccer Goal. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from 13

http://www.openyard.com/portable-economy-soccer-goal?gclid=cj0keqiaaujbrdqj772vpgfgoobeiqazwazupl8l9whm0kyfas1fkvm3yxxgssn8floepykl zj0b2oaamwa8p8haq RV Park Supplies. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.rvparksupplies.com/p/hotcoalreceptacle/ Smoker's Pole. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.uline.com/bl_6870/smokers-pole?keywords=disposal Southwest, Raleigh, NC Demographics. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.areavibes.com/raleigh-nc/southwest/demographics/ 6' Steel Frame Picnic Table. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.uline.com/product/detail/h-4405/outdoor-furniture/6-steel-frame- Picnic-Table?pricode=WY699&gadtype=pla&id=H-4405&gclid=Cj0KEQiAaujBRDqj772vpGfgooBEiQAzWAZUosw7zk_- n9273yerqvmazvb_bkdw4z_1uswpyhrnvoaar058p8haq&gclsrc=aw.ds 14