Since June, the Kelley’s Landing team has heard from over 1,100 people in our community, met with dozens of stakeholders, regulatory groups, and safety organizations, and attended multiple park events to capture what the community has to say about the future of Kelley’s Landing. The support and enthusiasm validate the effort to bring this park to life. We’ve heard many themes, most notably the desire for river access, most of which fit the context of a natural areas park, including nature trails for walking, preservation and restoration of the environment, and improved accessibility, safety, and education. When we asked which features would you use at Kelley’s Landing, 50% or more of you wanted the following;

• Bathrooms

• Walking Trails

• River Overlook

• Paddle Launch

• Picnic Areas

• Pavilions/Shelters

Based on this input, along with site analysis, research, and interviews, the project team explored various ways to arrange the park amenities on the physical site. 

• Concept A: Concept A arranges site programming from east to west, consolidating higher intensity uses such as playscapes, structures, and social gathering spaces to the east while locating more passive and natural programming, such as artwork, environmental education, and primitive hiking trails, to the west. A main trail connects the two ends of the park and allows users to experience the various site features. The team developed two alternatives for Concept A.

  • A.1: This alternative locates the more extensive program uses to the far east side of the site, adjacent to the main parking area positioned below the Interstate 75 bridge. 

  • A.2: This alternative places the main parking area closer to the launch ramp (more convenient access), allowing for a more gentle and welcoming approach to the site. 

• Concept B: Concept B organizes park amenities into a series of programmatic zones (play, social, educational, and exploration) that react to and celebrate the unique environments of the site. These zones are artfully stitched into the landscape and connected by a multi-use path. Similarly, instead of a single parking lot, a series of smaller parking areas provide more equitable access to the different amenity zones.

Concept B rose to the top for several reasons, including;

• Improving accessibility for all ages and abilities to experience the park's diverse features

• Seamlessly integrating maintenance and safety to the entire park without disrupting park use

• Intentionally dispersing activity zones to highlight the unique aspects of the site and better integrate into the landscape

• Allowing for a softer and more welcoming arrival as the design reduces parking from one large lot to a series of smaller parking areas

• Pulling park amenities further away from the I75 bridge helps to mitigate interstate noise heard onsite.

Now that the team has a general concept for the park's arrangement, we need your input to help shape the design! We want to know how you'd like the park to look and feel. Using photos from other parks we hope to capture your opinion on what you like and don’t like as it applies to Kelley’s Landing, shaping the future of how it will look and what we will experience as a community.