Guest Editoral in the Commercial Appeal

The nonprofit group Park Friends was founded in 1992 to help maintain Overton Park and to oppose plans to pave several of its green spaces for parking. We have been advocates for protection of the park ever since. We have defeated several proposed developments and completed projects that include sprinklers for the formal gardens, signs for the Old Forest trail, ongoing maintenance and clean-ups.

And now Park Friends has a modest proposal for city of Memphis officials: a conservation easement that would cover all the public green spaces of the park. Such a move would not only protect the irreplaceable old-growth forest but also prevent further paving and construction in the remainder of the park.

There has been a lot of ink spilled lately about the merits of proposed legislation that would establish the forest as a state natural area, versus the conservation easement that city officials prefer. But an easement and the natural area legislation could easily co-exist. Several parks across the state, including Shelby Farms, have a state natural area -- where the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation enforces restrictions on development and usage -- paired with an easement that protects the overall park in a way that allows for recreational facilities but prohibits inappropriate development.

An easement can be as loose or as protective as the property owner chooses to make it, but its advantage is that it would be an appropriate vehicle to cover all of Overton Park instead of just the forest. It is time for Memphians to stand up and demand a comprehensive and tightly written easement that would protect the entire park for generations to come.

The nonprofit Land Trust for Tennessee, which holds the easement for Shelby Farms, has been consulted by the city and is currently writing its first draft of an Overton Park easement. The Land Trust would hold the easement and legally enforce, if necessary, all protections written into the final draft. If the full park is covered by the easement, future generations of city officials would not be allowed to sell off or over-build the park.

Unfortunately, however, even with the excellent example of Shelby Farms in front of them, the city's Division of Park Services requested a draft easement that covers only the forest. Not even the Greensward, the large field and gathering place by Rainbow Lake, is covered in this first draft. Park Friends has been urging the city for months to cover the whole park, and it is disappointing that city officials are so far ignoring this opportunity to protect the crown jewel of the Memphis park system.

Expanding protection to all of Overton Park is crucial because the city has had an abysmal track record of defending the park in the past. Do we need a fire station? Let's put it in Overton Park. A maintenance area? Sure, put it in the park. More parking? Let's pave over another field. A senior center? Why not? Cut down some trees. Parts of the forest have been eaten away, but the other areas of the park are regularly threatened as well.

Shelby Farms and the new Shelby Farms Greenline have been prominent in the news lately, and there is a growing consensus that parks and recreational facilities are crucial elements for the city's future. Professionals deciding whether to bring jobs to the city and young creative types who enrich a city immeasurably are all drawn to green spaces and recreational facilities. Shelby Farms has been rightly hailed as a treasure, but the grand, old, urban park of Memphis remains Overton Park. It contains much of our history as a city and is accessible to and integrated with the neighborhoods on all sides. This park deserves comprehensive protection, not just for its forest but also for its remaining open spaces.

The golf course has been continually threatened by city budget cuts. It is important to the life of the park, and Park Friends is fighting to keep it operational; but if we ever do lose it, I worry that a land grab for asphalt parking lots or a sell-off of frontage along Poplar Avenue will follow. There needs to be protection in place to maintain the integrity and beauty of this historic and irreplaceable park.

Mayor A C Wharton has made park issues one of his major platforms. I hope he will step up to the plate and give Memphians an easement that has tight protections for both the forest and the other public spaces in Overton Park. The park deserves it. Memphis deserves it. Our grandchildren deserve it.

Martha Kelly is a Memphis artist and president of Park Friends.

Maintenace Area Pondered

St. Jude wants to take over the downtown city/general services maintenance area near its campus, and the city is beginning to think about moving both it and the one in Overton Park to one consolidated location. The zoo has ideas about what might be a good use for that space. They want overflow parking first and foremost.

I think a better plan would be to have them build a garage (instead of continuing to add surface asphalt to the park) in their current staff parking/maintenance area, inside the current zoo footprint, and let them use a part of the maintenance area for greenhouses or whatever they need (provided they provide much more appropriate screening for other park users than they have been willing to along their other park boundary fences) and keep most of that area for park. Jimmy Jalenak of the zoo has been actively promoting this plan, but the tricky bit is finding funds for a parking garage (which is never as high on the zoo's list of priorities for its money as the new, sparkly exhibits).

The current masterplan has a second greensward in the Southeast corner of the park, and we need more free, open space in the park. Maybe we could put up soccer goals again, since the zoo never returned the ones to the Greensward that they removed for parking. Soccer was a highly popular activity until we lost the goals.

The CA has an article beginning the pubic debate. Let your voice be heard by the city!

4/20 Roundup

It was a quieter day than I expected yesterday. Apparently the police presence this year (greatly increased, probably due to the zoo free day problems last month) deterred a bunch of the usual people from coming out. They had a watch tower in place the night before to greet all comers, and the crowd looked to me to be less than half what it had been the last couple of years.
DPS put out extra trash containers this year. Last year the crowd really tried to clean up after itself, but the available cans were not up to the task. Thanks to Larry Franks for getting us backup trash cans ahead of time this year!

Linda Moore, a CA reporter who always has park interests on her radar, wrote an article today that said the police made about 30 arrests. All was peaceful when Merlin and I walked over to restock Old Forest maps in the Park Friends kiosk and check out the scene. No fights, no upsets. It's always a friendly, welcoming crowd out enjoying the park. I'm sorry I missed the dancing banana.

4/20 Today

4/20 (the national pot smoking day that has become a day out on the Greensward the last few years) has its own poster this year. There will be bands, a huge crowd of people, a police blue crush tower (in place yesterday), a multitude of trash boxes (many thanks to DPS getting those out ahead of time), and zoo free day parking traffic. All in all, it should be a wild day on the Greensward today, so either go and enjoy the chaos, or consider yourself forewarned. I think I'll wander over with my camera to see the fun.

Lick Creek Update

The city engineers keep coming up with new plans for flood detention in Overton Park. The most recent one scraps the high concrete wall around the edge of the zoo lot in favor of a two to four foot high berm (grass) hugging the edge of the high ground around the greensward roughly from the huge magnolias (where the zoo cars currently enter) on east to near the edge of the lake. While this plan will definitely hold more water during heavy rains, it doesn't disrupt the Greensward nearly as badly as their previous plan to dig it out 18 feet deep.

This latest plan leaves almost all the flat part of the Greensward untouched and available for games (the zoo is supposed to returning the soccer goals at long last), picnics, kite flying, etc.

I feel that the above list of activities should no longer include the zoo parking. The city is asking the park to take extra water to protect the zoo and the Belleair neighborhood, and in return, they should return the park to the people. We're still in talks with the engineers, and I hope to have a map to show this plan soon. Watch this space for updates.

Flyer Article about the Park

I've been out of town and haven't updated everyone on the recent developments, but Mary Cashiola has a great article in this week's Flyer. It's very hard to get people excited about storm water until they're either wearing waders in their homes or hear that their favorite park is about to be dug up, but Mary does a great job of making this issue relevant for everyone.

Boy drowns in retention basin

A Millington boy was playing in a retention basin when a flash flood swept him into the drain and killed him. It's a terrible tragedy that does not need to be repeated at Overton Park. This is one more reason to be glad that the main picnic area of the park will not be turned into a retention basin and a trap for the children who routinely play there. Read the full CA article here.

Music group on the Greensward

Here's a sketch I did one weekend on the Greensward of people hanging out and enjoying the park. Someone recently said to me that all spring she'd gone to the Greensward and been depressed and anxious about the proposed retention basin and that now she can go and just be happy. That's exactly how I felt too when the plan was scrapped. I'm hoping to spend many hours over many years to come out celebrating on a blanket with the rest of Midtown.

Flock of Robins

There's been a huge flock of robins finding breakfast on the Greensward every morning lately. They're lovely to look at and not overly shy. Come out walking in the cool and see the show.

Commercial Appeal articles

Check out one article and one editorial on the Greensward decision in the CA:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jun/10/overton-park-basin-wont-be-dug-up/

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jun/11/city-makes-right-call/

Many thanks to the Commercial Appeal editorial board for two good editorials over the last few months addressing this issue. It's great to have the local paper supporting our parks and quality of life issues.

Flyer blog item

Mary Cashiola has been taking an interest in the Greensward issue and posted on her blog about the engineers' announcement.

http://www.memphisflyer.com/InTheBluff/archives/2009/06/05/detention-basin-declared-dead

GREENSWARD DETENTION BASIN DEAD!

Hugh Teaford and the city engineers announced last night that the plan to build a detention basin in the Greensward by Rainbow Lake is "not only dead, but sincerely dead." Here's the certificate they presented to Park Friends:


They presented two other options, which may meld into one plan that uses elements of both. Both plans call for a berm to be constructed along the old bus lane running in front of the zoo, to protect the zoo from floodwater. Both plans also widen the choke point under Poplar Avenue where Lick Creek crosses from beside Belleair Circle into the park. This culvert is not large enough to carry flood water out of Belleair during heavy rains, and it needs to be enlarged.

Options for handling flood water through the center of Overton Park include widening the other bridges across Lick Creek or, in consultation with a golf course designer, using low places in the golf course to hold and carry the water at times of heavy rain. Ideally this would be an upgrade to the affected holes and involve water hazards or other landscaping. The city designer, who redid the Galloway Golf Course, will be reviewing plans with the engineering office over the next month.

There will be a second meeting between the engineers, Park Friends, CPOP, and affected neighborhood groups on July 16th to see how the golf course and bridge plans are developing. Watch this space for updates.