Horizon West residents got their first glimpse of a conceptual rendering of the area's new regional park at a meeting on November 13, 2019, at Windermere High School. A third meeting is planned to take place in the winter/spring of this year.
The park - located north of New Independence Parkway and behind Bridgewater Middle School - consists of four distinct Zones:
- Passive Recreation Zone;
- Natural Area;
- Active Zone;
- Lake area.
Initial project details
The natural zone, on the northeast side, will be virtually untouched and will give residents the chance to appreciate the natural beauty of the area, while the passive recreation zone, on the northwest - which has more hills, will include similar natural resources, as well as amenities such as dog parks.
An active zone located in the center of the park would feature ball fields and a community center. A lake zone would give residents the chance to enjoy Lake Hartley through amenities such as a fishing dock and kayak launch area.
In an alternative concept (image below), the active zone is slightly adjusted, with the community center further to the west and the consolidated ball fields to the east, behind Bridgewater Middle School.
The concept shown at the meeting with the local community was created based on information gathered so far in an online survey, along with an exercise from a community meeting on May 1, 2019, where residents placed stickers representing certain amenities on a map of the property.
Orange County District 1 Commissioner Betsy VanderLey said residents' input is key to shaping the park.
"This is a park that we want to make sure is used very intensively, so when people give us their feedback on what they need, that's how we're directing what goes into this park," said VanderLey.
This contribution came quickly after the first community meeting. The online survey had 1,920 participants, more than 40,000 votes and more than 1,700 comments. The findings presented at the November 13, 2019 meeting revealed the most requested amenities in the future park so far. The results of the online survey recorded almost 50 different types of amenities that residents would like to see.
Check out what's at the top of the list below, with the percentage requested by the participants:
- Bike/running trails (67%)
- Picnic pavilions (58%)
- Hiking trails (56%)
- Farmers Market (54%)
- Splash pad (51%)
Even though the concept is taking shape, additional input is still needed on which amenities will reside in each zone, said VanderLey.
"We've moved forward and we've gotten more input from residents, we've started to put more details on paper and that refines it, so that will really help us decide what specifically goes where, how that's all going to flow," she said. "There's a lot more to come."
360º aerial view