Violet - New Park

Scope of project
BPR staff have been working with the Utilities and Transportation & Mobility Departments to finalize the project scope and a funding strategy that includes contributions from all three departments and coordinated grant requests.

The final scope of the project includes the addition of approximately one acre to the study area. This city-owned property at 1800 Violet Avenue is immediately south of the east end of the park and was purchased after the 2013 flood to remove residential structures from the high hazard and flood conveyance zones. It is currently managed by Utilities and has been included in this project to investigate whether and how the site could be incorporated into park development.

Design team to be hired
The final request for proposals for a design team was published on Thursday, June 15 with final proposals due July 14. Staff anticipate awarding a contract to the successful design team by the end of August.

Community engagement and events
Staff have begun relationship building with Boulder Meadows residents to elevate their voices in the design and engagement process. For example, two recently hired high school interns will support upcoming workshops with current participants in BPR’s Get Fit Program, part of the Youth Services Initiative at Boulder Meadows. These early conversations will help staff understand young people’s values and feelings about the site, as well as what activities they would like to do at the future park.

Similarly, Growing Up Boulder will lead an event in August with children under 5 living in Meadows or Ponderosa and their parents and caregivers.

The three community connectors for the project, with help from interns and staff, will also soon begin engaging residents through informal outreach and with a booth at two block parties at Ponderosa and Meadows.

As part of another citywide event on Sunday, Sept. 10, called “What’s Up Boulder,” all community members attending the event will be invited to the park site for pop-up play opportunities and a chance to weigh in on the vision and values for this neighborhood park.

After early analysis, staff identified a need to address floodplain and wetland issues as this project is designed. Due to these issues, the project completion is now anticipated to be later than anticipated. The timeline will be updated when appropriate floodplain permitting timelines are finalized.

Meanwhile, staff are onboarding three bilingual community connectors with meaningful connections to the Boulder Meadows neighborhood who will help design and implement an inclusive engagement plan.

BPR has also coordinated with staff in the City Manager’s Office and Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) to confirm the project approach to tribal engagement. To award grant funds to the city from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the National Park Service recently completed tribal consultation through established federal practices, during which Federally recognized tribes did not express interest in the project. To understand and support tribal interests in sites and projects moving forward, BPR staff will follow progress on a citywide process to engage Tribal representatives in a formal ethnographic study.

Boulder Parks and Recreation (BPR) staff are initiating an integrated, inclusive, and accessible design process for what will become the city’s newest neighborhood park.

Staff presented initial details on this process to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB).

Park Improvement Pre-Planning with CU Boulder

Parks and Recreation has had the opportunity to work with a CU Environmental Design class to engage students in developing some ideas for what the park could look like, and to provide some initial concepts for the park design. Staff anticipate that if the neighbors enjoy some of the design themes, and if they meet the design and operation standards of the department, that these ideas can be further explored through a formal design process. This initial neighborhood engagement allows the community to share their goals and desires for the park, respond to some of the design themes presented by the students, and gives an opportunity for the students to have a real life experience in facilitating a community meeting.

The open house occurred on November 21, 2019 at Crest View Elementary along with several other North Boulder Public Works projects. Four student groups presented their master plan concepts and recorded community feedback. This feedback will be retained by staff and used to initiate the formal design process.

Student Boards

• Intro boards PDF
• "Fleuve" boards PDF
• "Freshet Park" boards PDF
• "Sensoryscape" boards PDF
• "Thread Park" boards PDF