HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-09 September Stewart Park Improvement Master Plan Map & DrawingLOPMENT
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POLICY# 't 0` and develi�ptnent ®pdrunities #hat continued
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The City will support future public and private development which will enhance the op-
portunity for regional use of the park when such development is compatible with the
overall objectives of the Master Plan.
The City wishes to increase the informal picnic use and passive character of the park.
Future development will aim at enhancing casual use by families and people of all ages
for picnicking, fishing, strolling, viewing and similar unstructured activities.
The park faces serious problems of overuse. To overcome this, and increase future
holding capacity, the City intends to work toward extending parkland by selectively
extending the shoreline to the north.
The City feels that the best remaining old-growth lakeshore forest should be protected
and preserved in its natural state. In recognition of the natural functions of these
wetlands, their use will be controlled to prevent undesirable impact on human activity.
The City has every intention of again providing natural swimming opportunities in this
area if it can be demonstrated that this can be done safely and in a way that is econom-
ically acceptable to the community, responsive to environmental concerns, and compati-
ble with the broad role of this park in the City's recreation system.
It is the City's policy to assure the safety of park users by separating pedestrian and
vehicular movement whenever this can be done. Emphasis will be placed on the human
aspects of park use and pedestrian -vehicular conflicts will be minimized.
The City affirms the park's unique historic nature. It intends to rehabilitate park structures
when feasible and reestablish some of the earlier social, cultural and recreational activity
and character of the area.
The City intends to implement the Master Plan by the End of this century. It will use public
money to the extent that this can be incorported into overall budgets and supplement this
with funds from other public and private sources.
The activity area relationship diagram shows major types and intensity
of proposed land uses as these relate to each other, to the vehicular cir-
culation system and to the total area of the Stewart Park waterfront
complex.
High capacity active picnic or play
Low capacity active picnic or play
Low capacity passive picnic or play
e • e i
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Children's concentrated activity center
e e e e
02 Historic/ Social/ Cultural activity center
Unique natural resource preservation
. , . • , • - Shoreline enhancement
°® ® 10 Traffic spine
OREPLACE EXTENSIVE ROAD AND PARKING SYSTEM WITH
SINGLE CIRCULATION SPINE AND THREE PARKING
AREAS.
OPROVIDE LAKE "OVERLOOK" PARKING SPACES.
ORELOCATE PARK ACCESS ROAD TO EAST SIDE OF "TIN
CAN." REMOVE EXISTING ROAD.
OBUILD NEW STRUCTURE TO HOUSE YOUTH BUREAU AND
PARK MAINTENANCE OPERATION.
OHEAVY
PLANTING TO
SCREEN PARK FROM
CD
CREATE A TOURIST
INFORMATION PLAZA
TRAFFIC AND FORMALLY
AND BUS STOP.
ESTABLISH THE ENTRANCE.
OCONSTRUCT MUNICIPAL PIER TO PROVIDE PUBLIC
% ACCESS TO DEEPER OFFSHORE WATER. DEVELOP URBAN
FISHING PROGRAM. ENCOURAGE REESTABLISHMENT OF
LAKE CRUISES.
OCONSTRUCT PROMENADE WITH LOW INTENSITY
LIGHTING EXTENDING THE FULL SWEEP OF THE
LAKESHORE.
OCONSTRUCT RETENTION DIKE AND EXTEND SHORELINE
INTO THE LAKE NORTH OF DUCK POND. USE HYDRAULIC
MATERIAL DREDGED FROM THE INLET TO FILL THIS
EXTENSION AREA.
jQ FILL DUCK POND.
11 PLACE ADDITIONAL DIKING AND FILL TO CREATE A
SMALL ISLAND ABOUT 300 FEET OFFSHORE.
oCONVERT PRESENT MAINTENANCE BUILDING INTO AN
INTERPRETIVE CENTER RELATED TO ITHACA'S SILENT
FILM ERA.
13 REHABILITATE PICNIC PAVILION.
PROVIDE FORMAL AREA FOR DANCING, CONCERTS AND
14 PUBLIC GATHERINGS. RECREATE SOME SENSE OF THE
ARCHITECTURAL UNITY OF ORIGINAL VIVIAN AND GIBB
DESIGN FOR THIS AREA.
15 REESTABLISH FORMAL PUBLIC GARDEN SOUTH OF
COURTYARD. INCLUDE MEMORIAL ROSE GARDEN AS A
FEATURE OF THIS NEW ATTRACTION.
16 REDESIGN CHILDREN`S PLAY AREA.
17 REHABILITATE BOATHOUSE BUILDING. CONSIDER
COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
MORE PUBLIC USE.
18 IMPROVE SHORELINE TREATMENT ALONG SOUTHWEST
SHORELINE OF STEWART PARK.
OREMOVE ZOO AND USE AREA FOR SMALL GROUP
i9 PICNICKING.
2O EXCAVATE DEEPER HOLES RANDOMLY IN LAGOON TO
IMPROVE FISH HABITAT.
21 BUILD WATER IMPOUNDMENT STRUCTURE TO RAISE
WINTERTIME WATER LEVEL IN LAGOON FOR SKATING.
OBUILD NEW REST ROOM AND WARMING SHELTER FOR
22 SKATERS.
23 BUILD AND LANDSCAPE MOUNDS TO SCREEN PARKING
AND PROVIDE WINDBREAKS.
24 RELOCATE EXISTING TENNIS COURTS.
oCONNECT FOOTBRIDGES TO FACILITATE USE BY
25 HANDICAPPED.
OMAINTAIN INFORMAL FOOTPATH SYSTEM THROUGH
26 FUERTES SANCTUARY. SURFACE TRAILS WITH NATURAL
MATERIALS.
oREDUCE EROSION ALONG FALL CREEK BANKS.
27 RESTORATION SHOULD ALSO AIM AT IMPROVING FISH
HABITAT.
2B CREATE NATURAL INTERPRETIVE TRAIL AROUND
BIOLOGICAL FIELD STATION.
@REALIGN THIRD FAIRWAY AND RESTORE AREA AROUND
CITY'S OLD FIRE TOWER. RENOVATE OLD CLUBHOUSE
AND USE AS SHELTER. REMOVE FIRE TOWER.
oBUILD NEW GREENS AT HOLES THREE AND SEVEN.
3Q REALIGN GREENS AT HOLES SIX, EIGHT, AND NINE.
31 BUILD NEW FAIRWAYS AND TEES FOR HOLES FOUR,
SEVEN AND EIGHT.
oMOVE FAIRWAY NINE AWAY FROM THE INLET AND
32 RELOCATE NINTH HOLE.
oCONSTRUCT PONDS AND MOUNDS TO IMPROVE SURFACE
33 DRAINAGE AND ADD CHALLENGE. PONDS COULD
BECOME USEFUL ARTIFICIAL WETLANDS IF PROPERLY
DESIGNED.
34 BUILD PRACTICE RANGE 35 RELOCATE GOLF COURSE
BETWEEN FAIRWAYS ONE PARKING AND INCREASE
AND THREE. CAPACITY.
3B ESTABLISH PEDESTRIAN CONNECTION ACROSS THE
INLET TO CASS PARK. A SMALL PONTOON BOAT WITH
AN OUTBOARD MOTOR COULD PROVIDE A WORKABLE
FERRY.
3% KEEP PLANTING NATURALISTIC AND INFORMAL
THROUGHOUT PARK. INCLUDE EVERGREEN TREES AND
SHRUBS IN ALL PLANTING PLANS TO ENHANCE YEAR-
ROUND APPEARANCE.
38 DEVELOP OVERALL LANDSCAPING PLAN TO ACHIEVE
VARIETY AND INTEREST, DEFINE AREAS AND ENHANCE
VIEWS.
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STEWART PARK SWIMMING
As the depth readings on the map indicate, the lake bottom is flat and
the water quite shallow for some distance out. A soft silty bottom and
extreme turbidity are prevalent conditions in this area. The combina-
tion of wind- and wave -driven debris, and settlement of silt carried by
Fall Creek and the Inlet, make swimming at Stewart Park unsafe and
unpleasant.
Special effort was made to see if these natural conditions could be
mitigated or overcome. Changing the shoreline configuration, as in-
dicated, extends the stronger Fall Creek current further into the lake
and delays sediment dispersion. While this may improve offshore
water quality somewhat, additional measures such as silt removal,
creating a wind barrier (the proposed island) and, possibly, pumping
cleaner water from further offshore would probably also be needed if
swimming were to be reestablished. Additional possibilities such as dik-
ing a large pond, or swimming in the higher water velocity of Fall
Creek, were also considered but conclusions were not promising.
Another benefit of extending the western corner of the park further into
/ the lake comes from acquisition of badly needed additional land for
picnicking, with apparently little impact on habitat. The positive and
negative environmental effects of this proposal to extend the shoreline
1� need careful study. It is proposed that the extension be constructed
whether or not swimming is reinstated.
PAVILION AND
INTERPRETIVE CENTER
Rehabilitation of the main picnic pavilion, and development of
an exhibit center dramatizing the events and glamour of Ithaca's
brief silent film era, is recommended as a potential major focus
in the park. Feasibility must be tested.
The area between these two structures was once an attractive
unifying court with a band shell; a proposed colonnade was
never built. The courtyard feeling should be recreated and this
space reclaimed as a major public gathering place. The lakeside
facades of the pavilion and film center should be joined by a
wide pergola which could also be used as a bandstand, with the
lake as a backdrop.
MUNICIPAL PIER AND ISLAND
A man-made island is proposed, to be connected to the shore
by a wide pier. Earlier in this century a municipal pier extended
several hundred feet from the east side of the park and was
used for promenading, watching crew races and boarding the
popular lake steamers. The proposed pier would reestablish
some of the earlier flavor and activity of the lakeshore; the
island would form a windbreak and offer additional picnic
space as well as a possible bathing beach on its south side.
The pier could also originate at the large parking lot if better
access from cars and busses was desired. The island would
then have less meaning and its suitability and need should be
reviewed.
CASCADILLA BOATHOUSE
The conical towers and wide second -story veranda of this structure,
built in 1894, are Ithaca's most striking example of the Shingle Style of
architectural design. Rehabilitation of this building to restore much of
its original visual interest is proposed. The former exercise hall on the
second floor offers the opportunity for group gatherings, social events
or a restaurant with fine lake vistas.
An architectural conservator should be retained to investigate the
original design of this important building and to assist in the proper
accomplishment of needed adaptations to accommodate new uses.
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PROPOSED ARCHITECTURAL REHABILITATION PLAN x
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In 1934 the above plan for a Cayuga Lakefront was developed by
the Ithaca firm of Hewitt and Metzger. In 1984 a second
lakeshore plan, summarized in this brochure, was prepared for
the Ithaca Board of Public Works.
A fifteen member Stewart Park Advisory Group was appointed to
provide guidance and give meaningful response and advice dur-
ing the planning process. Committee reaction to proposals and
ideas helped shape final recommendations and gave the Master
Plan a strong sense of realism.
The work of this committee and the many others who contributed
to the preparation of this plan is acknowledged with gratitude.
PLANNING/ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CONSULTANTS
310 WEST STATE STREET, ITHACA, NEW YORK
January, 1985
Photographs prouided by the Ithaca Department of Public Works.
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Electric trolley line, picnic pavilion and water tower c. 1900.
An entrance to the Wharton film studio. Bandstand is on the left.
THE VALUE OF A PLAN
fishing, golf, strolling, sitting, bird watching,
As explained above, dramatic changes in
Stewart Park and its adjacent recreation
areas do not occur frequently. Nevertheless,
significant change has taken place over the
past nine decades and the park we enjoy to-
day is the product of that evolution.
It is clear that the availability of a number of
active and passive recreational opportunities
has caused the popularity of the Stewart
Park complex to increase rapidly in recent
years. This lively lakeside setting has
become a major regional attraction. It is a
primary site for family and group picnics,
large community gatherings, special events,
lake watching and generally communing
with nature and enjoying outdoor life in a
variety of beneficial ways.
Time and overuse have taken their in-
evitable toll; major repair and maintenance
work is now needed in the park. In the not
too distant future City officials will have to
make important decisions about major
capital expenditures in this part of the com-
munity. They will have to look at costs,
weigh alternatives, and establish priorities.
In fact, this process is already beginning as
badly needed utilities are being installed and
new facilities designed.
What will Stewart Park look like in the year
2000? How can this invaluable community
resource be expected to change over the
next fifteen years? Can public expenditure
for critical repairs and improvements, which
must be made in any case, contribute to the
long-range renovation and permanent
enhancement of the entire complex?
The Stewart Park Improvement Master Plan
was developed to help provide answers to
these and related questions. Interrelated
issues, concerns and opportunities were ex-
amined and a comprehensive outline for the
future — a point of departure — was
prepared to guide City actions in this area.
View of Stewart Park looking north. Photo taken by C. S. Robinson in May, 1932. Park structure has changed little since this period.