You can make a difference in how your tax dollars are spent in our city parks. Citizen comments on proposals to spend 2012 Vision funds are encouraged, as is your attendance at public meetings. Click here to fill out a comment form. Or see a schedule of public meetings. Read more about how Friends of Rapid City Parks views these proposals and why:
Mary Hall Park Parking Lot: Kiwanis Club requesting $250,000 to extend South Street and build a parking lot. Oppose. Duplicates Outdoor Education Campus; steep grade; ongoing maintenance costs.
West Memorial Park Design: City Beautification Committee requesting $1.2 million to complete the section of the Greenway Tract (Omaha Street Corridor Enhancement Project) from Interstate I90 to Eighth Street, south of Central High School. Support. Completes implementation of greenway improvements that will treat stormwater, buffer Rapid Creek, enhance bike path, and restore natural surface with removal of obsolete tennis courts.
Whitewater Park: Black Hills Paddlers is requesting $400,000 to build “rocks” in Rapid Creek from Sioux Park to Founders Park to create waves for rafts, canoes and kayaks. Cannot support or oppose without further information. The proposal is not clear about operation of the site, issues of liability, fees and numerous other aspects of the project.
Skyline Wilderness Trails: Request from Black Hills Runners and BH Mountain Bikers for $900,000+ to implement the trail plan developed for Parks & Rec. Support. The trail system has been in the works following acquisition of Skyline Wilderness. Natural trails to be maintained.
Southwest Area Park: Request for small neighborhood park at Sheridan Lake Road and Wildwood Drive. $500K to $1.0 million depending on how many acres. Oppose. Based on fiscal issues; city has difficulty maintaining existing parks.
Sundial Pedestrian Bridge: Pedestrian Bridge over Omaha. Proponents requesting $3.2 million. While FRCP does not support a particular design such as the Sundial Bridge, we do support further investigation of a means to reconnect downtown with Memorial Park by bridging the barrier that Omaha Street has become.
Roosevelt Park Field House: Also known as “Roosevelt Park Intergenerational Facility,” this building is the proposed structure to connect the ice arena and the swim center. It would be another building added to the more than 60 erected in the floodway since the land adjacent to Rapid Creek was declared off limits to building after the 1972 flood. Cost $8 to $11 million. Oppose. Friends of Rapid City Parks is opposed to any additional structures in the floodway.