General Information of Municipal Park
Where is the Park Located?
Municipal
Park is located on the south west corner of Clippert Street and Michigan
Avenue. The park is located very close
to Michigan State University and thus is surrounded by college apartments and
student dorm rooms. The presences of Spartans around provide the park with a
true sense of security.
Figure 1. Overall view of Municipal Park
What’s At The Park?
The Park and Playground: The
park has a small playground that has been freshly painted and well maintained.
There are also benches located around the playground for parents to sit down and
supervise their children, as they play on the playground. Picnic tables are located throughout the park
for that perfect family gathering for lunch in the park.
Figure 2. View of the play ground at Municipal Park
Figure 3. One of several benches at Municipal Park
The Baseball Stadium: A major attraction of the park is the beautiful baseball stadium which is equipped with
lighting and stands for a good sized crowd.
Conveniently located directly behind home plate is a building that houses
a concession stand and bathrooms. The
entire baseball park which also includes the building that houses the
concession stand and bathrooms is gated off to the public when an organized city
baseball game is not scheduled that day.
Figure 4. Overall view of the baseball park
The Golf Course: Just north east of the park is the Red Cedar Golf Course that opened in 1927 and
recently closed in 2007. As of now it is
still abandoned and has been grown over by shrubs. The city as of now is discussing development
plans for this unique piece of land.
Figure 5. Golf course grown over by shrubs
Below is
a video that outlines the development proposal for the old Red
Cedar Golf Course from the city of Lansing.
Parking Lot: There is a huge
parking lot located just south of the park that can easily support a crowed
ball game at the park.
Overall, we believe this is a wonderful
park that is well maintained and has many amenities. If you choose to vote for our development
plan, this park will elevate neighbouring land values and will promote a
desirable opportunity for the citizens of our city to be more physically
active, thus increasing the health of our fellow citizens.
Click Link Below for a 360 view of the park and playground
Pros and Cons of Municipal Park
Positive Characteristics of the
Municipal Park
o Nice Playground that includes
§ Slides, shacking bridge, sliding pole, 4 swings (2 for infants),
twisting stair climb, a child teeter- totter, and rocking dinosaurs for
children
§ There is a large field just north east of the playground that
would be excellent for development because of its ideal location between
Lansing and East Lansing.
§ This land was originally the Red Cedar Golf Course that went out
of business
Figure 6. Overall view of the playground
o Large well maintained baseball stadium
§ Has lighting structures that can easily illuminate the ball park
for night games
§ Home and away Stands
§ Concession stand
§ Bathrooms
§ Dugouts
§ Honorable plaques
Figure 7. Millage Fund for the concession stand and restroom
o There are multiple picnic tables in the park for people to enjoy
their lunches as they relax in the park
o There is a pavilion in the park for family or friend gatherings
o The park has a city park maintenance crew that comes every Tuesday and Thursday to clean up
trash in the park and attend to any equipment that needs attention.
Figure 8. Pavilion for families.
o Side walk by the park for bikers or runners
§ Makes park easily accessible from the south side
o Large parking lot
§ Is enough parking for a full ball park crowd
§ Children to play roller hockey
§ Or to ride bike
Negative Characteristics of Municipal Park
Newell’s Model displays four types of
constraints including functional, structural, task, and environmental. We will
focus on the environmental constraints associated with our park.
o
It is difficult for a child to ride
their bike or walk to the park if they live north of the park due to the busy Michigan Ave traffic
Figure 9. Busy traffic of Michigan Avenue.
o
The area just south west of the park is
a very poverty struck area with abandoned businesses and a poorly maintained
gas station, along with a liquor store, thus making the park unsafe at times
o
Some step ladders are too high for a
young child, making it unsafe.
Figure 11. Step ladder too high off the ground.
o
Park is right next to a “danger high
voltage” area, which could be dangerous for children
Figure 12. Power outlet right next to park.
o
Very sharp corners for the base of the
teeter-totter, increasing risk for injury
Figure 13. Sharp corners of teeter-totter
o
Random stumps appear throughout the
park, increasing risk for injury
Figure 14. Tree stumps throughout the park
o
The lighting is not bright enough to
illuminate the park at night time and gloomy days thus making unsafe.
Figure 15. Broken lamp not able to illuminate park
o
Swings are relatively high off the
ground, which could make it difficult for some kids to use safely
Figure 16. Swings too high off the ground.
o
The walking surface underneath the
playground is woodchips, which are sharp and do not provide a stable surface for
children, which may increase the children's risk for injury
Our Development plan
Development of the Red Cedar Golf Course
- Build four large grass fields in the south half of the undeveloped land where the golf course is located. Also, painting the regulation soccer field lines on each of the 4 fields.
Cost: $2000.00
Provides:
§ Organized sports for youngsters in the area
§ Open space for playing catch with friends
§ Open space to play fetch with your dogs
§ Great open space to fly a kite
§ Great place to play seven on seven football
Evidence: An article by Barclays explains that the community will be more connected
with the fields they put in place. The kids will also gain leadership and
teamwork skills from the sport teams being formed. It also encourages kids to
be more involved in exercise and sports as they grow up (Barclays, 2008).
Figure 18. Proposal of multiple soccer fields next to the cities proposed strip mall.
- The purchase of 8 soccer nets and equipments for soccer games
Cost:
Provides:
§ Organized soccer leagues a place to play their games
§ A place for organized soccer teams to practice
§ A place for people of all ages to practice soccer and play
pickup games.
Evidence: Soccer is one of the most popular sports in America, with participation in youth rising to 17.5 million in 2002, and is projected to keep increasing (Hilgers, 2006).
Development of Playground
- Resurface the playground with recycled rubber and in the process extend the playground boundary 10 feet north and 10 feet east to account for the needed space of new swings (talked about below).
Cost: $1000.00
Provides:
§ Will increase the stability of the playground surface
§ Provides better traction
§ Acts as a cushion absorbing the weight of the child or a
possible fall
§ Is not sharp like woodchips
§ Will raise the level of the playground to decrease the step
height a child must take to enter onto the playground
§ The new height will cover the sharp corners of the base of the
teeter totter.
Evidence: An article by Fishman states that the rubber surface makes the floor slip-resistant, providing a safer area for children to play (2009).
- Placing a tire swing in the north west corner of the playground next to the other swings.
Cost: $100.00
Provides:
§ A unique piece of equipment that sparks the creative play of a
child
§ The ability for up to three children to swing together
Evidence: By adding a tire-swing, it would make our playground a unique place to encourage creativity in
children (Barth, 1974).
- Placing a handicap swing in the north west corner of the playground
Cost: $600.00
Provides:
§ Handicap children the ability to swing
§ Provides a safe and secure activity for handicap children
§ Handicap children with a sense of "fitting in."
Evidence: By having the handicapped swing added will integrate the handicapped
children and non-handicapped children together. This will cause more
non-handicapped children to gain knowledge and acceptance of those who are
disabled (Holley, 1981).
Services Provided
- Services provided at the part: Hiring an individual to come Tuesdays and Thursdays to work in the park, as well as communicating with the strip malls (City of Lansing) for additional security.
This individual will:
§ Open the baseball park gates and allow people of all ages to use
the baseball field
§ Have access to work out of the building where the concession
stands and bathrooms for the baseball stadium are
§ Lend soccer balls, footballs, baseball, baseball bats, and
baseball gloves to children (items will be stored in the concession stand
building)
§ Will keep an eye on the park and report unusual activity
§ Be one of the many volunteer from MSU that is a part of the new student
organization called Promoting and Developing Safe and Fun Physical Activity for
Children in our Society
Evidence: An article by the South African Journal of Education concluded that when a child is in a safe environment, free to roam around, it increases creative thoughts and activities (Xaba, 2006).
Conclusion
Overall we believe this a wonderful
park that is well maintained and has many amenities. If you choose to vote for our development
plan, this park will elevate neighboring land values and will promote a
desirable opportunity for the citizens of our city to be more physically
active, thus increasing the health of our fellow citizens.
Figure 20. Overall view of Municipal Park
Questions to consider
1. You say that the city of Lansing is
planning to redevelop the open field into a strip mall. How is your group
planning to negotiate with the city for your proposal to follow through?
2. How will redeveloping the park increase
child attendance? How will they get there?
3.
What
about the various constraints surrounding the park, such as the liquor store?
Do you guys plan to do anything about it in order to promote human movement?
Annotated Bibliography
Barclays
dedicates new sports fields to east side charter school students. (2008, Sep
29). PR Newswire, pp. n/a. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/448512040?accountid=12598
Barth, H. (1974). Building a creative playground: A community,
school, PTA project designed for children series. Educational Design and Consultant, pp. n/a.
Fishman, S. (2009). Weston resurfacing playground at gator run park: Rubber surfacing will be safer for kids playing at gator run park. McClatchy - Tribune Business News, pp. n/a.
Henley, G. (2010).
Area teams see rise in soccer interest. McClatchy
- Tribune Business News, pp.
n/a.
Hilgers, L. (2006). Youth sports
drawing more than ever. Retreived from http://articles.cnn.com/2006-07-03/us/rise.kids.sports_1_youth-sports-tennis-lessons-kids?_s=PM:US
Holley, D. (1981). Playground to Be Rigged for Handicapped: Experiment Aimed at Integrating
Them With Other Children. Los Angeles Times, GB4-gb4.
Xaba, M. (2006). An investigation into
the basic safety and security status of schools' physical environment. South African Journal of Education, 26,
565-580.
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