On the agenda

1. 1Call to Order - Roll Call▶ 0:00
2. 2

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   Parks and Recreation Master Plan

   discussed

   Consultant David Barth of Barth and Associates presented the draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan to council at a work session. The plan, developed with a steering committee, identified key needs including connectivity/trails, off-leash dog parks, neighborhood parks, natural areas, and treating the Cotee/Pithlachascotee River as the city's primary recreational and economic asset. Discussion covered citywide improvements (signage/wayfinding, marketing, river kiosks, movable furniture experiments), park-by-park visions, and integration with the school system. No formal vote was taken; the item was a presentation with council feedback.

   📍Francis Avenue Park📍Francis Park📍Green Key Beach📍Jasmine Park📍Miller Bayou📍Sims Park🏢Barth and Associates🏢Gulf Middle School👤Councilman David👤David Barth👤Elaine👤Jason Chow👤Jeff👤Ms. Manz#Cotee River / Pithlachascotee River recreation strategy#Great Preserve / Prairie Preserve#Parks and Recreation Master Plan#comprehensive plan#movable furniture / Adirondack chairs experiment#redevelopment plan#seafood festival programming#signage and wayfinding system

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   [00:00:20] Ms. Manz. [00:00:21] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. [00:00:23] You have before you, well, not before you, I should say. [00:00:30] Oh, you do have it before you. [00:00:33] Draft report on the Parks and Rec master plan. [00:00:37] We have David Barth in attendance this evening, [00:00:41] who served as the principal in charge on behalf of Barth [00:00:46] and associates team, and has worked with the master plan [00:00:50] steering committee, as well as with staff and the elected [00:00:54] officials of the city to develop a plan. [00:00:58] And we're going to allow him to present his findings to us [00:01:01] this evening at the conclusion of which he's prepared [00:01:04] to respond to what questions you may have. [00:01:09] He did this at the committee meeting, [00:01:12] and he timed himself, and he said [00:01:14] he could get it done in front of us in three minutes. [00:01:17] Three minutes. [00:01:19] But Chopper's going to give the presentation. [00:01:27] So I think this is a feel good story. [00:01:29] I'm real pleased with how the plan came out. [00:01:31] We appreciate all your input. [00:01:32] We've got great input from the steering committee. [00:01:35] I think you've got an implementable plan that [00:01:37] meets all of your goals. [00:01:38] So it does take about 15 minutes for me to present this [00:01:42] and see what questions you have. [00:01:44] So this is an outline of the presentation. [00:01:48] And if you recall, this is what you all asked us to do. [00:01:52] You wanted a long range master plan, [00:01:54] take into account those things. [00:01:56] And in essence, you were looking to make sure [00:01:59] you had a vision for the future that [00:02:01] would accommodate the needs of both existing residents, [00:02:04] as well as folks that you anticipate [00:02:07] moving into the community. [00:02:09] Maybe it's a 10 year plan, depending on the funding. [00:02:13] So the planning process followed these five steps. [00:02:18] So no surprise there. [00:02:19] We went from existing conditions all the way [00:02:21] through needs assessment into vision. [00:02:23] And then staff's going to develop an implementation [00:02:26] strategy based on funding availability. [00:02:29] And we're on schedule. [00:02:30] This is a schedule we started with. [00:02:32] So we're on time, on budget, and ready to get [00:02:36] interim responses from you. [00:02:39] A recap of the needs assessment. [00:02:40] If you recall, the last time I talked to you, [00:02:43] it was the findings from the needs assessment. [00:02:46] And the chart on the left, [00:02:47] which is difficult to read from here, [00:02:48] shows the different needs assessment techniques at the top. [00:02:52] So things like the statistically valid survey, [00:02:54] the online survey, focus group meetings, [00:02:56] meetings with you all. [00:02:58] And then the dots were the different needs [00:03:01] that came up through the process. [00:03:02] And what we were looking for was consistency [00:03:05] between the different techniques. [00:03:07] So the list on the right is my summary of, [00:03:10] well, here's what I think we heard. [00:03:11] It's worth taking just a minute to repeat this one. [00:03:16] So what we heard was, first and foremost, [00:03:18] you've got a really good system. [00:03:20] It's not like something's broken. [00:03:21] And we need to improve what you have, [00:03:24] similar to what you've already been doing, [00:03:26] to meet the needs of not only this generation of residents, [00:03:29] but future residents. [00:03:30] And as we talked about before, [00:03:32] recreation trends and habits and needs [00:03:34] are changing and shifting. [00:03:36] It's a different model than when many of your parks [00:03:39] were developed years ago, [00:03:42] between what people are looking for today. [00:03:43] So first and foremost, more things to do, [00:03:46] marketing, amenities. [00:03:48] Second, and this is true across the country, [00:03:51] both these things are true across the country, [00:03:53] people want connectivity. [00:03:54] They want to get out on their bikes. [00:03:55] They want to walk, not just to the parks, [00:03:57] but from their home to work to the parks as well. [00:04:00] So connectivity, walking, hiking, biking. [00:04:04] Off-leash dog parks are a top priority. [00:04:06] Again, everywhere around the country. [00:04:08] It's not just for dogs. [00:04:09] It is a social phenomenon that people meet their friends. [00:04:13] They meet, they do play dates with the dogs. [00:04:16] I don't expect that to go away anytime soon. [00:04:19] So that was another need. [00:04:21] We talked about at the visioning workshop [00:04:24] after we met with you all, [00:04:26] that there are a couple of places in the community [00:04:28] that do need some small additional parks [00:04:30] that don't have them now. [00:04:32] And we said, well, it's not good enough [00:04:35] to do a new neighborhood park [00:04:36] if it's just for recreational purposes. [00:04:38] But in the future, if you find a need [00:04:40] that there's a neighborhood where they could benefit [00:04:43] by economic development, by neighborhood stability, [00:04:46] but stability by say stormwater improvements, [00:04:49] if you could get multiple benefits [00:04:51] from a single acquisition or development [00:04:53] of a neighborhood park, [00:04:53] it'd be good to add a couple of neighborhood parks. [00:04:56] And then people are looking more and more [00:04:58] for natural areas as our communities urbanize. [00:05:01] Again, it's not just you. [00:05:03] As our communities urbanize, [00:05:05] we hear from the public more and more, [00:05:06] they want more natural experiences. [00:05:08] So those are the top priority facilities. [00:05:10] And then you have the list of programs down below. [00:05:13] And those are very consistent with the facilities. [00:05:16] So last time we met, [00:05:17] you all said that those made sense to you, [00:05:19] that is credible. [00:05:22] And based on that, [00:05:22] we went and we had our visioning workshop to talk about, [00:05:25] well, what's the appropriate response for New Port Richey [00:05:28] to those needs and priorities? [00:05:31] So I'll take you through the long range vision. [00:05:34] If you remember in your, [00:05:36] if you've looked at the report, [00:05:38] the vision's broken out into two things. [00:05:40] It's got citywide improvements, [00:05:42] and it's got park by park improvements. [00:05:45] But we started the visioning workshop [00:05:46] by asking whether the Parks and Rec Department's [00:05:49] vision and mission are still relevant. [00:05:51] Do they still reflect residents of New Port Richey [00:05:54] and what your wishes and desires are? [00:05:58] And it was an interesting discussion. [00:05:59] Again, many of you were there, [00:06:01] but that long list on the left [00:06:03] were things that people said, [00:06:04] these are some of the values that ought to be incorporated [00:06:07] into your mission and vision for Parks and Rec. [00:06:09] And that's very consistent with this new era [00:06:11] that we're in with parks, [00:06:13] in that parks are much more than recreation these days. [00:06:16] People are looking for parks and recs [00:06:18] for everything from health and education [00:06:22] to economic development to affordability, [00:06:24] the list goes on. [00:06:25] So the Parks and Recreation System [00:06:28] is a big part of what makes you a livable, [00:06:31] desirable place to be, [00:06:34] and also is a big part of sustainability and resiliency. [00:06:36] So I think you're a community that believes in that, [00:06:40] but I thought it was interesting that that came out [00:06:42] in the mission and vision statement. [00:06:44] So some of the citywide improvements that we talked about, [00:06:48] and these are things that transcend any one particular site [00:06:51] and can be just done incrementally over time. [00:06:54] You know, we talked about the signage [00:06:56] and wayfinding system that you're already working on. [00:06:58] A lot of discussion about increasing marketing, [00:07:02] increasing our communications with the residents. [00:07:04] I can't remember the exact number, [00:07:06] but Elaine, do you remember when people were asked [00:07:08] why they didn't participate? [00:07:10] I think it was a rec center. [00:07:11] That is something like 43%, [00:07:13] so I don't know enough about what's going on. [00:07:15] There's some number. [00:07:16] But anyway, that was one of the indications [00:07:18] that people are looking for more ways. [00:07:20] In the workshop, we asked how many people [00:07:22] got their information through old-fashioned newspapers, [00:07:26] how many get it through email and stuff. [00:07:28] It was a mixed group. [00:07:29] But as your demographics shift, [00:07:31] it'll be more important to make sure you're reaching people [00:07:35] regardless of what type of media they use. [00:07:37] So we talked about that. [00:07:39] More information, doing a periodic online survey [00:07:43] to get feedback from residents. [00:07:45] So just staying more in touch with residents [00:07:47] in addition to the ways that you're already doing it now. [00:07:49] So again, nothing's broken. [00:07:50] It's just doing more of the same, but in different venues. [00:07:54] This is the one that's nearest and dearest to my heart. [00:07:58] It in essence says, citywide, [00:08:01] that the river should be thought of [00:08:03] as probably your number one [00:08:04] recreational, social, economic entity. [00:08:08] And you already talk about it in your comp plan. [00:08:10] You talk about it in your redevelopment plan. [00:08:12] But there doesn't appear to be a comprehensive approach [00:08:15] to treating the river as an asset. [00:08:18] It seems like other agencies rely on some state [00:08:21] and federal agencies maybe to keep the water clean, [00:08:24] and there's some events that happen. [00:08:26] But the question is, can the city embrace this and own it? [00:08:30] And I don't mean physically or literally own it, [00:08:32] but can you really improve on the [00:08:41] caretaking, I guess, of the river? [00:08:43] So the list on the left says, for example, [00:08:45] when I'm paddling down the river, [00:08:47] there's nothing that tells me where I'm at. [00:08:49] It doesn't tell me that that's a city park I'm paddling past. [00:08:52] It doesn't tell me what amenities I'm going to see. [00:08:55] It doesn't tell me how far out to the gulf. [00:08:57] Now, you also don't want to have sign blights [00:09:01] through this incredible natural experience. [00:09:04] But the idea of your signage and wayfinding extending... [00:09:08] Jeff, do you have a question? [00:09:09] Right, are you talking about maybe putting the... [00:09:11] I'm trying to figure out where you would put signage. [00:09:14] It's mostly, obviously, personal property. [00:09:17] No, no, so for example, when I'm paddling back [00:09:20] by Francis Avenue, nothing tells me [00:09:23] this is Francis Avenue Park. [00:09:23] You're talking about just from at the parks [00:09:24] and maybe some signs on the channel markers [00:09:26] saying you're this far to the gulf, [00:09:28] you're this far to Miller Bayou. [00:09:28] Yeah, it could be, or on the docks. [00:09:30] Or on the launches. [00:09:34] Could there be a small sign on the canoe kayak launch? [00:09:39] When I pull my, you know, because I'm pulling my kayak up. [00:09:42] So could it... [00:09:43] No, I understand. [00:09:44] I'm not against it. [00:09:45] I'm just trying to figure out where you're... [00:09:46] We had people come in here and say, [00:09:47] we need more manatee signs. [00:09:49] Well, where are you going to put them? [00:09:51] The channel markers stop halfway up the river. [00:09:54] So the only way you can, [00:09:55] the only place I can think you can put them [00:09:56] is public boat launches, which one or two of those. [00:09:59] And then the park along the river, [00:10:01] Sims Park and Francis Avenue, and then the other small ones. [00:10:04] So an example would be when I put in at the preserve, [00:10:08] could there be a kiosk at the canoe kayak launch [00:10:14] that shows me a map of the river, [00:10:16] shows me where the parks are? [00:10:18] And also, by the way, it lets me know [00:10:19] those are all city parks. [00:10:21] I say, oh, wow, this is a system of city parks [00:10:24] connected by that river. [00:10:26] Tells me what amenities. [00:10:27] This is where I can rent a boat. [00:10:28] Here's the phone number to call. [00:10:30] I always freak at the guy's names. [00:10:33] Where can I get lunch? [00:10:34] I agree, very good idea with the kiosk and everything. [00:10:36] You can kind of start at Great Preserve [00:10:37] and kind of chart your course there. [00:10:39] I was just trying to figure out along the way [00:10:40] where you're going to put signs. [00:10:41] So duck your head, Elaine, for a minute. [00:10:42] What is so cool, what is so cool [00:10:46] is that this recreational amenity connects [00:10:49] 50% or more of your parks. [00:10:51] And the ones that are off the river [00:10:53] are connected by streets and trails and bikeways. [00:10:56] And so if you want to think of this as a backbone [00:11:00] with all of the other organs around, [00:11:03] but it's an interconnected system. [00:11:05] And right now it's sort of treated as individual sites. [00:11:09] And that to me, you all know that's your number one asset, [00:11:12] but there's so many things you could do with it [00:11:14] that serves people who maybe aren't using the river, [00:11:21] provides affordable recreation, [00:11:23] improve the water quality. [00:11:24] So that's where that list is on the left. [00:11:25] So for example, improving existing parks [00:11:29] using say rain gardens that would improve stormwater [00:11:32] as it runs into the river. [00:11:34] Doing native plantings and trying to restore [00:11:37] some of the native habitat in certain sections of the river. [00:11:41] Providing street end launches [00:11:43] in addition to the ones you have [00:11:45] so that no matter where I live in the city, [00:11:46] I identify that this river belongs to me [00:11:49] and I can walk down to it. [00:11:50] And somewhere within a couple of blocks, [00:11:52] one way or the other, you can see these dots. [00:11:54] I can put my boat in the water. [00:11:56] And I was talking today to the steering committee [00:11:59] where I used to live in West Palm. [00:12:01] I had a little homemade cart. [00:12:02] I lived two or three blocks from the river I was on. [00:12:05] I'd put my kayak on my cart. [00:12:07] I'd wheel it down. [00:12:08] I'd slip it over the seawall and I was golden. [00:12:11] Didn't cost me a dime other than [00:12:13] I had to buy this old kayak. [00:12:16] But the ability for every resident [00:12:19] to identify with that river as being theirs. [00:12:22] Part of that, having learned to paddle classes, [00:12:24] say monthly, and you could do that through concessionaires. [00:12:27] Forming a friends group. [00:12:28] In addition to some of the special events you have, [00:12:30] I mentioned things like canoe and kayak festivals. [00:12:34] Coordination with the other state [00:12:35] and the federal agencies who manage the waterway. [00:12:39] And then we have the Green Key Beach. [00:12:41] But that to me is the kind of thing [00:12:43] you could do incrementally that just, [00:12:46] over time, allows the city to embrace the river [00:12:48] more and more and more. [00:12:50] And makes me want to live here. [00:12:52] You know, that access to that incredible resource you have. [00:12:55] So that's a citywide system there. [00:12:58] Stop there for a second. [00:12:59] I thought of this after I heard the presentation earlier. [00:13:02] Was that the seafood festival, [00:13:04] although they had some boats there, [00:13:05] they didn't even really put you on the river. [00:13:08] Yeah. [00:13:09] I mean, it was there, [00:13:10] but there was such an opportunity with paddle boards, [00:13:13] kayaks, but there was just boats to look at. [00:13:16] That's a good point. [00:13:17] They had Miss Daisy, but that was it. [00:13:19] So I mentioned a couple of festivals. [00:13:20] I know Palm Beach County does this. [00:13:22] I just saw one in upstate New York, [00:13:24] where they'll invite all the manufacturers and vendors [00:13:27] to bring the latest paddle boards, [00:13:28] latest kayaks, et cetera. [00:13:30] And for 20 bucks, 10 bucks, [00:13:32] you can, you get a paddle and a life jacket, [00:13:36] and you can trial anybody's boats for the day. [00:13:38] Go out for 15, 20 minutes, [00:13:40] come back in, try another one. [00:13:41] They have lessons going on, [00:13:42] but there's all kinds of ways to, again, [00:13:46] energize the community with this asset you already own. [00:13:48] And that's a great point. [00:13:50] And this is probably a discussion [00:13:52] best held for a later meeting, [00:13:54] but a lot of, like you said, with the seafood festival, [00:13:57] I'm not pointing fingers [00:13:58] in any nonprofit organization in particular, [00:13:59] but it seems like a lot of the events [00:14:01] we're doing in our park right now [00:14:03] are not to embrace our city of New Portage community. [00:14:06] It's more as we're giving them a platform, [00:14:09] a fairground, for lack of better words, [00:14:12] to generate funds for their nonprofit. [00:14:14] And I personally don't think [00:14:15] that's what our events in the park should be about. [00:14:18] So, huge discussion to have in another time, [00:14:20] but it kind of ties into what Chopper said [00:14:23] and what you're saying. [00:14:24] Seafood festival wasn't even geared around the river. [00:14:28] And I wasn't there, just based on what Councilman David said. [00:14:30] I'd soccer all weekend. [00:14:32] But it seems like we're doing the same events in the park, [00:14:35] and it's more about quality, not quantity, in my opinion. [00:14:38] And like I said, totally different discussion. [00:14:41] But if we want people to come and move and live in our city, [00:14:45] we need events in our park [00:14:46] that are geared towards those people, [00:14:47] not just, hey, come use our park [00:14:49] and see how much money you can raise. [00:14:51] That's not what it should be about. [00:14:52] And not all events have to be at Simms. [00:14:53] So you could have a paddling lessons at the Preserve, [00:14:57] or you could do it in France, [00:14:58] I mean, depending on capacity. [00:14:59] Like you said. [00:15:00] If you're having a seafood festival at a huge park, [00:15:02] why not do things like that? [00:15:05] This one's related. [00:15:06] This just talks about we're in a different era, [00:15:09] whether you wanna call it placemaking, [00:15:10] whether you wanna call it amenitizing, [00:15:13] but people are looking for more things to do in your parks. [00:15:17] And these are, this one, just like the previous one, [00:15:20] my buzzword is experiment. [00:15:23] And you're already experimenting with different programs, [00:15:25] but you can take any one of these and try it out [00:15:28] and see if it makes improvements. [00:15:29] We had a discussion about movable tables and chairs [00:15:32] at the steering committee meeting. [00:15:33] I said, if you wanna try Adirondack chairs at Sims Park, [00:15:37] invest in some Adirondack chairs [00:15:38] and see if people use them or if they end up in the river [00:15:40] or if they end up being taken home. [00:15:43] But parks around the United States [00:15:45] are abandoning fixed furnishings [00:15:48] to try to make parks like Sims [00:15:51] feel like their public living room, [00:15:53] where I can adjust things and move things around. [00:15:55] If it's hot, I can move the shade. [00:15:57] So this kind of laundry list of things [00:15:59] over the coming years, you can experiment with [00:16:02] and see what works and doesn't work. [00:16:04] And there's plenty of great examples all around, [00:16:06] actually, the state and the country, so. [00:16:09] So that's- [00:16:09] Expand on that a little bit more [00:16:11] if you want on the tables and chairs, [00:16:12] because you gave a couple of great examples at lunchtime. [00:16:15] Remind me what they were. [00:16:16] Well, the idea that you could move the chairs where you, [00:16:19] now the chairs were put on the back [00:16:21] that they were Sims Park chairs, [00:16:23] but you would move them around [00:16:24] so that people would group together. [00:16:26] And also, there's a lot of visibility. [00:16:28] We have cameras in Sims Park [00:16:30] where they might not walk away as quickly [00:16:32] or end up in the river as quickly, [00:16:35] but they might stick around. [00:16:37] And then you gave an idea of buying, I know, $200 worth [00:16:40] and see if they stick around for a while. [00:16:41] If they stick around for a while, [00:16:42] then maybe add another $200 [00:16:45] and put some more out there. [00:16:46] Mr. Barth, when we met individually, [00:16:47] you even used the Jasmine Park along the river there. [00:16:51] You know, it's a great little asset there, [00:16:53] but there's nothing there but a picnic table and a dock. [00:16:55] Why not have a cutout with maybe [00:16:57] some crushed limestone seashell, [00:16:58] put two at our annex there, [00:16:59] put city of New Port Richey, [00:17:01] sail along the Alaska. [00:17:02] I guarantee the people in the neighborhood would use it. [00:17:04] And so many people come and just park their car up front [00:17:07] and fish and just go to read a book and hang out, [00:17:09] but it's just not very inviting right now. [00:17:11] Right, and I think, I mean, to me, [00:17:12] there's nothing more inviting than saying, [00:17:14] come have a seat, you're welcome here. [00:17:16] We were talking about, you know, [00:17:18] if Robert and I want to talk, [00:17:19] we tend not to talk like this. [00:17:21] We actually want to sit and chat like this. [00:17:24] And if the sun changes, I'll move over. [00:17:26] So again, there's great examples. [00:17:29] Some cities have branded their own chair for their parks. [00:17:33] So we talked about New York and Bryant Park, [00:17:35] and we talked about Battery Park, [00:17:36] where they've customized their own chair [00:17:40] that's in all their parks. [00:17:41] So different ideas there, easy to experiment with. [00:17:46] We were blessed by, who's our principal? [00:17:51] Jason Chow. [00:17:51] Yeah, so who was wonderful through the whole process. [00:17:55] And we talked all through the whole process [00:17:57] to the steering committee meetings [00:17:58] about all the opportunities there are [00:18:01] to do a better job of incorporating and integrating [00:18:04] school system, curriculum, activities [00:18:07] between schools and parks, and the assets. [00:18:10] Are you excited about using Prairie Preserve? [00:18:12] I mean, I'm not sure, it's literally [00:18:14] a couple blocks away from the school. [00:18:16] And that's a huge asset for Gulf Middle School [00:18:17] to be so close, you don't have to throw kids on a bus [00:18:19] and take them somewhere to experience [00:18:21] what they can experience there. [00:18:22] But currently they're not utilizing that, correct? [00:18:24] I don't know how much they're using. [00:18:25] They're not utilizing that portion of the Great Preserve, [00:18:27] no, but he is very excited about that. [00:18:31] He also talked to me, this was earlier on [00:18:34] in this whole group, that he has [00:18:37] after school problems at Francis Park. [00:18:40] If the kids have problems at school, [00:18:42] they take care of it at Francis Park afterwards. [00:18:45] That's been going on for decades. [00:18:47] Oh, guilty? [00:18:48] I remember that from Gulf Middle, yeah. [00:18:50] I steer it clear, but that's where it was settled. [00:18:52] Yeah, but he's actually, and we got a new grill there, [00:18:58] so he was gonna possibly have cookouts [00:19:01] to kind of break that, cook up hot dogs and stuff [00:19:04] to break that image of what's supposed to go on at Francis [00:19:07] and what's going on at Francis. [00:19:10] Yeah, he's interested in both parks. [00:19:12] This is related, you have this wonderful history. [00:19:15] It's a history unlike any other city in Florida, [00:19:19] from Hollywood to your festival. [00:19:22] Great opportunity to use public art, [00:19:26] to get grants, to interpret the history, [00:19:28] to, again, add another layer of interest to your parks. [00:19:33] We talked this afternoon that historically [00:19:35] in the United States, and this is back [00:19:36] in the City Beautiful movement, [00:19:38] parks were the vehicle by which people [00:19:40] told their city's history, [00:19:42] but it used to be very formal sculptures [00:19:44] and busts of the fathers of the city, et cetera, [00:19:47] and now it's turned into things like, [00:19:49] this is the Lawn on D in Boston. [00:19:51] Those are neon swings by the hundreds [00:19:55] that people come out to at night and swing on. [00:19:59] So all kinds of different ways to get people [00:20:03] to come out to the community and to tell your story. [00:20:06] So very similar to more things to do [00:20:09] is the idea of using public art, interactive art. [00:20:12] And again, there's great examples around the country [00:20:14] of really cool stuff that's going on. [00:20:16] So this one goes back to that connectivity idea. [00:20:20] So as I'm listening to me talk [00:20:23] and I'm listening to you talk, [00:20:24] imagine that you're telling people [00:20:25] about this great place you live in. [00:20:28] And you say, you got to come to our city. [00:20:30] You can go down the river, [00:20:32] you can pop in a kayak anywhere you want. [00:20:34] We have public art in our parks. [00:20:36] We've got environmental education programs. [00:20:38] All of our parks are welcoming. [00:20:40] There's plenty of things to do. [00:20:41] You can get on your bike, you can walk anywhere, [00:20:43] you can ride your bike anywhere. [00:20:45] We're a very walkable, bikeable community. [00:20:48] This is all consistent with the vision [00:20:50] that you've expressed in your comp plan, [00:20:51] your redevelopment plan. [00:20:53] So connectivity is a big part of it. [00:20:55] And it's through all the techniques that you have. [00:20:57] I remember at the visioning workshop, [00:20:59] people talked about, well, [00:21:00] we don't really have a great trail system, [00:21:02] but we have the opportunity to use sidewalks [00:21:04] and bike lanes. [00:21:06] Okay, so in an urban setting, [00:21:08] you use the tools you've got. [00:21:10] You'd use complete streets with shade. [00:21:12] Right now, it'd be great to reinvest [00:21:15] in the canopy that you have, using cycle tracks. [00:21:20] We took the MPO plan and we took Robert's plan [00:21:23] and said, here's a vision for an interconnected system [00:21:26] just based on the trails that have already been identified, [00:21:29] the wide sidewalks that have been identified. [00:21:31] And my favorite was, during our visioning workshop, [00:21:34] we talked, and I have no idea where this idea came from. [00:21:37] Do you know? [00:21:39] Somebody talked about why couldn't we make Grand Boulevard [00:21:41] more of a bicycle-pedestrian-friendly promenade, [00:21:45] a greenway, and could it connect [00:21:47] from downtown to Old New Port Richey? [00:21:51] And so we say, well, at first, [00:21:53] you could simply put out traffic cones. [00:21:55] This is back under this idea of experiment. [00:21:57] You could put out traffic cones on a Saturday morning [00:22:00] or a Sunday morning and tell everybody [00:22:02] that for four hours, Grand Boulevard [00:22:05] is going to become a greenway. [00:22:07] And you're welcome to come ride [00:22:08] and walk and run and ride your bike. [00:22:11] You could have music, you could have food. [00:22:14] This could be done in concert with some type of festival. [00:22:17] But this would be like Central Park closes in New York [00:22:20] for certain hours of the day. [00:22:22] Interesting that when this discussion got out, [00:22:26] I had a retired postal worker [00:22:31] made a point of contacting me [00:22:33] to tell me that we needed to make the pedestrian side [00:22:38] the southbound lane because all of the mailboxes

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3. 3Adjournment▶ 22:39