Join Friends of Lincoln School Park!
Lincoln School Park Grand Opening
Join us for a celebration on Sunday, September 15, 11-2pm
W. 12th Ave. and Madison St.
Way back in 2017 the JWN Board noticed that Lincoln School Park was on the park remodel list – none of us even knew that Lincoln School Park was a city park! After many pubic meetings a design was agreed on and construction planned. Then it was delayed due to design changes to protect the big leaf maples, then again for COVID, and again for zoning change issues, and now we are finally ready for the long awaited pay-off. The park looks great!
Park group re-activating – contact us to join the LSP Google Group
Friends of Lincoln School Park have their First Meeting
Eleven neighbors met on November 30th to reactive the Friends of Lincoln School Park in anticipation of a grand reopening in Spring 2024. They reviewed an updated plan from the city project manager and discussed ways to keep the park safe and friendly. The park is totally fenced off for construction and four trees have been removed—the plan calls for planting five new trees. We will track progress and report on the date when the park will reopen next year.
Final Final Plan Released!
The Lincoln School Park renovation work has been scheduled for this summer and we hope to be completed by Fall 2023!
As reported previously that as a part of the construction drawing development process, careful root probing uncovered numerous large, 2-8” diameter roots from the mature Bigleaf Maples. The roots extend just below the sand surface, up to thirty-plus feet beyond the tree’s driplines. As a main feature of the park that contributes to the character of the neighborhood, they didn’t want to negatively impact these trees. They therefore had to delay construction until they could rework the plan to preserve the trees.
The plan may be tweaked further during the construction drawing phase, but the general location of the elements will be as shown in this concept layout.
• To minimize impact to the tree roots, they have reduced the size of the playground and eliminated the walk on the north side of it.
• The new walk along the west and south perimeters of the park will move forward as planned.
• They will reduce the large berms as much as possible and extend the community garden fence into the southwest corner for safety and visibility.
• Benches, lights, a drinking fountain, bike racks, a park sign, a bistro table or two and possibly a small adult exercise area (if the budget allows) will be included in the renovation.
• They will continue the garden theme by adding espaliered dwarf fruit trees and blueberry bushes at the garden fence.
• An irrigation system will be installed so the turf will stay green throughout the summer months for passive recreation.
Park Renovation Further Delayed until Summer 2021
Parks had come up against some budget overruns for park projects slated to be constructed for summer 2019, so it was delayed until summer 2020. On further investigation of the site, it was discovered that the 100 year old broad leaf maples have extensive root systems nearer the surface that expected or is typical. Broad leaf maple root systems are extremely sensitive to disruption and to protect they valuable legacy trees the current design needs to be amended. Therefore, renovation has been further delayed until summer 2021. Not ideal, but needed to protect our large trees. Stay tuned here for updated plans.
In order to preserve the integrity of our design choices, Parks has made the difficult decision to postpone the Lincoln School Park renovation construction work until the summer of 2020.
Final Park Concept Plan Released!
After a robust public process, Parks has released its final conceptual design and are turning it over to the engineering staff. This is a great example of how neighborhood associations, park groups, and the city can work together to involve the public for the common good. Special thanks to Chris and the Friends of Lincoln School Park and adjoining neighbors like the folks at the Lincoln School Condos. You can view the final report and survey at the LSP website: https://www.eugene-or.gov/3744/Lincoln-School-Park-Renovation
Conceptual Design Plans Released
Park Online Survey Results Overview
Dates of survey: 11/7/2017 through 12/9/2017
Number of respondents: 51
Survey results indicated that the most important current uses of the Lincoln School Park are the community gardens, enjoying nature, use of the playground and traveling through the park on the existing north-south path.
Safety was the most common underlying goal for the park to try to limit the illicit use and the overnight camping. There were helpful solutions to make this happen like opening the site lines to the back of the park by eliminating the berms, extending the community gardens into the back SW corner of the park to eliminate a hiding spot, and adding lighting and signage to the park if feasible.
Overall improvements to existing features included an upgrade to the garden fence and extending irrigation to any new plots. Play area renovation was a common suggestion by removing the sand, adding updated play equipment and possibly a sand play area. A walkway around the play area and ADA accessibility were mentioned as positive improvements. It was also suggested that improvement of the turf area and basketball courts will bring in more positive activity. Irrigation installation is a way to green up the turf area to make the park look less abandoned. A small piece of art or some feature to make Lincoln School Park distinctive was also suggested.
Source: Lincoln School Park Renovation page
Download Full Survey Report Here
Stay informed by visiting the city’s Lincoln School Park Renovation page.
First Park Renovation Workshop held October 7, 2017
About 17 people attended from all around the neighborhood, including Ted M. Coopman (Board member of Jefferson Westside and Friends of Monroe Park coordinator) and Emily Semple (City Councilor for Ward One that covers the JWN). Pam Symond from Eugene Parks and Open Space facilitated the meeting with a slide show that covered history, type of parks (ours is a “neighborhood park”). The service area for the park in approximately .5 miles (although a bit irregular).
The planning process will continue through the spring including a survey and another hosted “workshop” in mid-April, 2018. The park renovation will also be discussed at an upcoming JWN general meeting (likely in February or March). Actual construction will probably occur in summer 2019. The budget is pegged at $500,000 and may be supplemented by federal and local grants. While this seems like a lot of money for a small park (Charnel Mulligan cost about $800k, $300K were grants) installing things like irrigation and new play facilities add up fast.
Neighbors brought up concerns and ideas about security, keeping the trees, protect the garden from basketballs, expand the garden, take out the berm, irrigation system for new turf, a sand play area, safety surfacing for the basketball court and engraving/striping for games like hopscotch, as better through-bike access between 13th and 12th. This was an initial information session and no decisions were made.
The City wants the neighbors to participate in an inclusive process, but a final design will come from staff with neighbor input, as opposed to consensus or a majority vote. There are too many factors involving federal, state, and local regulations, budget and maintenance. However, as with Charnel Mulligan, the city staff is highly responsive to neighbors needs and requests.
Download the full review of the first meeting: LSP_Report#1
This park was last updated in 1995 – so this is a once-in-a-generation chance to help create a great open space.
Want to get involved? Contact us.
Help us keep the park safe by reporting any illegal activity (camping, drugs/alcohol use, etc.) or homeless in distress to the Eugene Police Department via the non-emergency # (541) 682-5111 (hit 1-1-1 to skip prompts) [program into your phone]. For homeless in distress, they will call CAHOOTS. If people are being aggressive, threatening, or violent call 911.
For park problems including trash, graffiti, vandalism, or needed repairs file a report via Park Watch.
Making reports indicates community engagement and creates data that can be used to advocate for resources.
Lincoln School Park is .8 Acre park located on 12 Ave and Madison next to the Lincoln School condominiums and near the Lane County Fairgrounds. It currently has a basketball court, play equipment, sand play area, and a sand volley ball court (bring your own net!).
