MANSFIELD — The Downtown Improvement Advisory Board on Thursday recommended Mansfield spend up to $15,250 to help fund the conceptual design of a proposed downtown linear park.
That would cover half the estimated cost of the work to be done by Edge, a Columbus-based planning, landscape architecture and urban design firm.
The park planned along West Third Street will connect the Imagination District and Carrousel District through a walking path spanning about a half mile.
Linear parks are built in urban or suburban areas that span more length than width. They often emphasize exploring a city through designated walking or biking trails.
Mansfield hosted a temporary “pop-up” linear park for a month in the fall of 2021, which covered part of West Third Street.
In its proposal, EDGE said it will work with local companies — Field9: architecture and K.E. McCartney & Associates — to “create a vision for a more permanent park and streetscape installation between Bowman Street and Mulberry Street.”
The total design expense will be $30,500, including $6,000 for GIS mapping of the area being used.
In September, OhioHealth Mansfield announced it would commit $100,000 from to Mansfield Rising for the construction of the park. Those funds will not be used in the design phase.
Mansfield City Council will have to vote on the actual expenditure of the money, which will be merged with private donations and other funds to pay for the design project.
The actual design work is not expected to begin until January and will take about three months. EDGE officials will walk the site and meet with community stakeholders to define goals and objectives of the project.
“Topics will likely include the potential for vehicular lane changes (road narrowing), lighting, plantings, site furniture/amenities, curb repair/replacement, stormwater facilities, sidewalks/ADA ramp improvements and crosswalks,” EDGE said in its proposal.
The EDGE design team will then prepare a first draft of potential corridor improvements and alternatives. “We anticipate the use of hand sketches, 3D models and precedent imagery to describe the potential alternatives,” the company said.
EDGE will also develop a preliminary construction budget as part of the design process.
A second phase would include engineering plan and actual construction, advisory board members said.
The work is being done through the Richland Community Development Group.
