Sayre Park, the home of Strawberry Days, has a few areas of low-hanging fruit that residents want refurbished, replaced and in some instances reimagined altogether.
On Thursday, the Sayre Park Master Plan project consultant team led by Zehren and Associates out of Avon, plans to unveil its preferred park improvement scenario at a community open house from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Community Center, located at 100 Wulfsohn Road.
According to Pedro Campos, principal landscape architect and land planner for the firm, similar suggestions came from all walks of life for Sayre Park.
“We have heard quite a bit from the community that they really love the park generally as it is today,” Campos said of the feedback gathered from interviews, public meetings and a community survey. “We have tried to go for the low-hanging fruit; some of the improvements that will be really meaningful but won’t fundamentally change the layout or uses within the park.”
TENNIS, PICKLEBALL AND BASKETBALL
Campos explained that, out of all of Sayre’s amenities, its tennis courts receive the least utilization. That’s not because park users do not enjoy the sport, but rather due to the courts’ poor surface conditions and surrounding fencing, he said.
Additionally, the consultant team has heard from avid pickleball players about the need for designated pickleball courts in Glenwood.
“It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the country,” Campos said of pickleball. “We are going to show one of the two [tennis] courts being renovated into four pickleball courts.”
The plan envisions new tennis and basketball courts, too, Campos explained.
PLAYGROUND EXPANSION
Much of the feedback also zeroed in on the need to expand the park’s existing playground in a way that creates appropriate areas for different age groups.
A previous city press release called Sayre Park’s playground “obsolete” and went on to say, “replacement parts are no longer available.”
SAVE THE SLEDDING
According to Campos, sledding remains the top activity during the winter months in Sayre Park, and countless residents want the family-friendly activity prioritized.
“We heard that over and over again. So we said, well, we got to respect that and maintain it because it is a real important activity in town.” Campos said of the sledding tradition.
ACCESSIBILITY, STRAWBERRY DAYS AND SHADE
Being home to the annual Strawberry Days Festival, the consultant team made clear its intentions to provide accessible routes throughout Sayre for senior citizens, parents pushing strollers and disabled park users.
“The stairs between the field and the lower bench … everyone seems to make it somehow or some way, but it is definitely an area that needs to be improved,” Campos said.
Campos went on to say how the consultant team was being mindful of existing shade and vegetation throughout Sayre Park.
Following Thursday’s community open house, Zehren and Associates will accept additional public comment before conferring with City Council about the preferred plan.
“From this meeting and with a more detailed map we will start really drilling down in greater detail and assigning some costs to different improvements,” Campos explained ahead of going before City Council, possibly as early as next month.
mabennett@postindependent.com