Salem Riverfront Park Open House

Last night the GreenWorks team, led by Mike Faha (Principal) and Jim Figurski (Senior Associate), presented the Draft Master Plan Concept for Salem Riverfront Park to an audience of 53 interested citizens. A brief presentation was followed by an open house where the public could view plans and perspective drawings of significant features, as well as ask questions about the Master Plan. 

The presentation and Draft Master Plan Concept were well received by those in attendance. Public comments included appreciation for maintaining a positive balance between open space and paved or built structures; seamlessly incorporating popular park features like the existing playground and splash pad; and increasing access to the Willamette River.

The Draft Master Plan Concept was the culmination of a year long process of stakeholder and public meetings identifying key issues that might affect the design, developing programmatic elements, creating design alternatives and gathering public input at each stage along the way. Public input was sought both in live meetings and through online questionnaires on the City of Salem’s website. The surveys gathered more than 1600 responses!

Helping with the presentation and open house were Kimi Sloop with Barney & Worth; Patricia Farrell, City of Salem Parks Planning and Resources Manager; Rob Romanek, Parks Planner; and Toni Whittler with Planning and Natural Resources. Rick Williams our Transportation Planner was not present, but a valuable contributor to the design team on traffic and parking issues.

The Draft Master Plan Concept will now go to the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Salem City Council for approval!