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EXISTING PARKS AND OPEN SPACES \X'-ithin the Southdale Neighborhood, there are t\Vo public parks - the Clausen Road i\lini-Park (0.3 acres) and Southdale Park (5.4 acres). There are additional accessible parks outside the Southdale Neighborhood but within walking/biking distance. A comfortable walking distance is generally considered \/4 mile, and a comfortable biking distance is 1 V2 miles. The distances below are measured from Southdale Park, following streets and established pedestrian paths. The walking/biking distances are shorter for some areas of the neigh borhood. Neighborhood Parks (These parks serve neighborhoods '/4 to 1/2 miles away.) · Badger Park, 1.8 acres (0.63 miles from Southdale Park) Rimrock Park, 2.3 acres (0.68 miles from Southdale Park) Penn Park, 6.3 acres, (0.79 miles from Southdale Park) Indian Springs Park, 7.1 acres (0.87 miles from Southdale Park) Community Parks (These parks serve neighborhoods 1 to 2 miles away.) Nine Springs E- \X'ay (0.87 miles from Southdale Park to the Capital City Trail) - Although accessible to the neighborhood, this open space is not counted in available acreage calculations of this section. Quann Park, 79.9 acres, (1 mile from Southdale Park) Goodman Park, 32.3 acres (1.5 miles from Southdale Park) NATIONAL RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATION STANDARDS The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has established standards that serve as a general guide for the amount of recreational land based on population. The NRP A recommends 0.5 acres of J\i1ini- Parks, 2.0 acres of Neighborhood Parks and 8.0 acres of Communirv Parks per 1,000 community residents. ' In the 2000 Census, the Southdale Neighborhood had a population of 1,487 residents. Therefore, according to NRPA guidelines, the Southdale Neighborhood should have: .g i\Iini - Parks Neizhborhood Parks Total (within the neighborhood) 0.7 acres 3.0 acres 3.7 acres/l,487 residents Communi~' Parks Total (accessible to the neighborhood) 12.0 acres 15.7 acres/ 1 ,487 residents The existing parks within the neighborhood: Mini- Parks 0.3 acres Neighborhood Parks 5.4 acres Total 5.7 acres \Xfithin walking/biking distance: i\1ini- Parks Neighborhood Parks Community Parks Total 0.3 acres 22.9 acres 112.2 acres 135.4 acres The Southdale Neighborhood is well-served bv the acreage of public parks. \X'ithin the neighborh'ood, the current residents are near sigru' hcantlv more neicrhborhood , b park space than is suggested by national guidelines. There is a slight deficit in Mini-Parks, but the size and centrality of Southdale Park more than compensates. The neighborhood plan enables an increase in residential density, so the neighborhood population could increase b\ 55 percent to 2,300 residents and still meet national park' standards for mini-parks and neighborhood parks. \X'ithin walking/biking distance, the current neighborhood residents have over 8 times as much park space, in particular Community Parks, as suggested by national guidelines. However, poor neighborhood connections means that many of these parks are not within walking distance or require traveling along or across a busy road. Additionallv the City and Town should budget ade~uate funding so th~~ these parks can be maintained and improved to be more effective. SOUTHDALE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN_