A second charette is now scheduled for Monday, February 17th, to look at additional plans and alternatives. I wonder whether a natural scheme for flood control can be a part of this plan or if we are locked into the stale, old engineering approach of building a huge artificial dam. A less obtrusive parking lot would also be nice. Street parking has worked well for quite a long time now and it may make more sense to simply pave along Robinson rather than asphalt more natural areas.
Here is Gibson's message:
Community Members –
On November 18th, 2013, the City of El Paso’s Planning Division, in conjunction with its Parks & Recreation Department, held a public meeting and design charrette to obtain public feedback about various elements of the future Palisades trailhead and access improvements project. As a 2012 Quality of Life Bond funded project, public input received during our November meeting serves as a critical first step in understanding the community’s vision for this uniquely located central gateway to the Franklin Mountains State Park. In recognition of this project’s importance to our City, over 50 members of the community came together at the November 18th meeting to discuss their ideas and preferences for the trailhead.
I am writing to you today to share the results of that charrette and to provide you with an overview of our next steps. Please use the link included in this email to access the full report, which provides a detailed look at results from each of the charrette’s activities. To briefly summarize, a clear preference for a minimalist approach to trailhead design and access improvements was communicated. Limited intrusion into the natural environment and the use of materials native to the site that serve to enhance its function, scenic views and other natural features were repeated themes. Finally, parking including its location, layout, size and composition remains a central issue and warrants further input from the community prior to a final design decision being made.
With these ideas in mind, City planners, parks officials and engineers have gone back to the drawing board and are working together to develop several alternative designs for review and input by the community. To this end, we plan to hold a second public meeting and design charrette on Monday, February 17th where the community will be invited to comment on and contribute to the design process. Details regarding meeting time and location are forthcoming. In the meantime, please review the charrette findings report accessed via the link below and forward it to any other individuals or groups you think may be interested.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, concerns or ideas about how we can improve the public input process.
Thank you for your help and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Elizabeth Gibson
Lead Planner, Long Range
City Development | City of El Paso
222 S. Campbell St.
El Paso, TX 79901
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