A rendering of the new Aurora Park looking west shows Fulton St in the foreground and 26th Ave. on the right. The completed park at Fulton and 26th is not shown as it actually is now with playground equipment. Renderings courtesy of Forest City
At an August 18 meeting at Fletcher School in Aurora with over 100 attendees who came to hear about the new Stapleton homes and park, the audience (most from Aurora) responded favorably to the plans.
The plans were printed in the August Front Porch and can be viewed here.
Questions and requests from the audience included:
Will there be toilets or porta-potties at the ball fields? They are not in the plans because it was expected the park will primarily used by those who live nearby. The request was noted by the planners since it was pointed out that organized games would bring people from other neighborhoods.
Will the park be lighted at night, especially the path from Stanley to Stapleton that will likely get a lot of nighttime use? There will be street lights, but the park itself will not be lighted and is officially closed at sunset. However the request for a lighted path from Stanley to Stapleton is being taken into consideration.
Flat grassy pocket parks with decorative trees will be built at the intersection of each street along 26th Ave.
Will there be shade structures in the park? There will be one shade structure big enough for four picnic tables near the 26th and Fulton playground.
Who pays to build and maintain the park? Although bigger than other pocket parks in Stapleton, the park is local infrastructure, to be built with funds from the extra mill levy Stapleton residents pay. The MCA will maintain the park.
How much parking will the park have? There is no parking lot but there are 170 parking spaces on the street.
How long is the loop path around the park? One mile.
A toilet of some kind would be advised just simply because there are a lot of people of varying ages and life stages that cannot hold their bladder or bowels for a long enough time to get to the nearest toilet, wherever it may be.