CAF Neighborhood Park Survey Results March 7th, 2008

90% of the residents that live within our neighborhoods who didn’t frequent or know about the park said they would visit it if there were some improvements.

In order to reach a decision whether to develop the park to make it more family friendly, the CAFCL Board and park committee went to great lengths to insure all voices would be heard. We handed out questionnaires to residents at meetings and in person, mailed them with the newsletter to every home, posted online polls for a number of months, sent questionnaires through Arrowhead Elementary School, and even handed out questionnaires to neighbors during the Primary Election at the Arrowhead Polling Station.

Our community’s responses to the survey have made it clear: a significant majority support development of the park and continuing efforts to keep a balance between preserving the CAFNP’s treasured natural beauty and making it a place where visitors could stay for a longer period of time. As we’ve learned over the years, especially with gangs moving into our city, those immediately around the park can not protect the park by themselves. We believe, once we reach the goal of having our neighbors “take ownership of the park” with increased use of the expanded amenities, we will see a decrease in the unwanted activities we have seen in the past: drug trafficking, drug use, arson, and general vandalism. Prosecution of violators will continue during and after hours with the continued police presence.

We will have our CAFNPs steering committee work with Parks and Rec to bring this vision to life. Ideas shared to date include:

1. The installation of three non-obtrusive, eco-friendly picnic tables.
2. A small playground with vandal-deterring equipment (an open design, with no areas to hind in, and made of fire-resistant materials).
3. A parking lot with only a few spaces to limit the number of visitors and to keep traffic to a minimum.
4. A fenced dog park, possibly at the left rear area behind the hill, to include benches and sanitary stations. (Pet owners would be required to scoop and remove waste products left by their pets.)

The plan could be accomplished in a two-phase approach; the first phase being the installation of the picnic tables and playground, and the second phase to include the parking lot and Dog Park.

During tonight's meeting, all in attendance were invited to be part of a steering committee to work with Parks and Recs to bring the unified vision to fruition. We did have one person come forward and offer to join the steering committee, along with the others on the Park Committee to work towards a solution in preventing crime in our park.

The solution we've heard from experts is to bring in our entire community together to protect it. This can only be done through having our citizens "take ownership" of it. "If you own it, you'll take care of it" is the general consensus. I'm glad there are so many citizens in our area willing to do just that.

If you would like to be a part of the Parks Steering Committee, please fill out the volunteer form below and our Parks Committee chairperson will be in touch with you. Choose SAFETY AND SECURITY and in the notes section, write in Parks Steering Committee. (Thanks for volunteering).

Thank you all for voicing your opinions; either for or against. It is only through open communication are we able to really know what the general consensus is regarding the CAFNP and what vision our community has for the park.