1:
Lake Lynn Park
Master Plan
By: Joshua Smith, John McCargo, Jarvis Byrd, and Rashard Smith
2:
Table of Contents
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………. 3
Regional Analysis ……………………………………………………………………………3
Site Analysis………………………………………………………………………………….5
Program Development……………………………………………………………………….7
Fitting Programs to Site……………………………………………………………………..9
Estimated Cost and Funding Sources………………………………………………………10
References……………………………………………………………………………………14
3:
Executive Summary:
We did our site analysis on Lake Lynn Park. Lake Lynn Park is in the northern area of
Raleigh. We did a lot of research while doing this report. We walked around the park several
times. We also went to different websites to find out about other aspects of the community that
we needed to know. Our goal with this was to upgrade and improve the facilities at Lake Lynn
Park. We think have gone above and beyond putting this park together. In this report you will see
everything from the data about the community around the park, too different amenities we want
to add to the park. This will detail everything we will need to do to build the park as we see fit.
This will be done all under our million-dollar budget.
Regional Analysis:
Lake Lynn was made for the people in North Raleigh and the housing around it. The
population of North Raleigh is 72,505 and the age group is age 30 and up. 62.05% are married,
24.6% are single, 9.19% are divorced, 4.35% are widowed, 12.7% are single males, and 11.9 are
females. Homes with kids is only 32.5%. The average household size is 2.5. This data tell us that
majority of the people who have a child have more than one. The things that were missing from
Lake Lynn that we saw was a need of a boating dock, more trash cans because the distance
between the spacing are far apart from one another, and some new painting on the benches
because they are old and rusty. Some things that we saw were good were the trails, and the
pavement was pretty good as well. The pavement was smooth and not cracked everywhere like
other lakes. The tennis courts were in good shape and they have lights around the court so you
can go there and play at night. Which we thought was awesome. Also the parking lot has nice
4:
spacing to drive your car through and it’s not crowded like Lake Johnson.
We will collect five different pieces of data to help figure out how to correctly upgrade
the park. Those five pieces of data are soil type of the property, communities’ wants and needs,
ecosystem of the area and how to keep it sustainable, what part of the park is being used and how
it is being used, and the GIS map. The soil of the property is important because we have to know
what we can build on certain parts of the land. The communities’ wants and needs may be the
most important piece of data we need. We need to know the age, income levels, educational
levels, and race and ethnicity so that we can determine what the surrounding communities like to
do. We need to improve the park so that it will satisfy the people that go there the most. We have
to see what plants and animals can be sustained in that type of environment. We have to decide
which part of the park is being used the most and what people are doing the most. The GIS map
is the main thing we need to collect so that we will have a full understanding of the property.
5:
Ideally we will have 10-12 people on the planning committee. This number is important
because it allows the people to represent different groups in the community without having an
excessive amount of peoples input. With this amount we can split up the committee by twos so
that each group will have a certain area to focus on. We will have 2 people from each group of
people that likes to ride horses, the walkers, the homeowners, mountain bikers, and the general
households itself. We asked them to represent this group of people because we have to know
what each person likings are. We want to make sure that everybody enjoy what they love doing
at parks. They will get information from the group of people that they are representing. They will
collect the ideas of the people of what they like to do and what they want to do. They will collect
the amount of people who like to do those certain types of activities in the park.
Site Analysis:
Our group conducted one visit to Lake Lynn Park, The first thing that I noticed turning
into the facility was the sign was hard for me to see so I drove by it the first time. When we came
in the driveway to the park, it was big and had enough space for all types of vehicles to park
there. We than scanned the parking lot and couldn’t find any imperfections that need to be fixed
or addressed. We than followed the sidewalks up to the tennis courts, they have 4 tennis courts
that seem to be in good condition. The tennis court was also lighted if you wanted to enjoy the
court after sunset.
6:
We than head towards the baseball/softball field to inspect it and noticed that someone had there
an old grill in the park trash can and that issue should have been addressed by staff at the park
since the trash can was visible as soon as you entered the parking lot from the driveway. The sun
was facing the opposite way and would not be an issue for the people using the field. The
batting cages were in the right field corner side of the baseball/softball fields and could use a
little updating and was priced to be about 14 grand for a deluxe side by side batting cage that
could get way more use. We than headed to the trail entrance and on the way we say the bocce
ball courts and the playground for the kids. I feel the bocce courts need to be updated to an
artificial turf so that it wouldn’t be so messy in inclement weather. The playground could be
updated and made a little safer as well for the kids. We than entered the trail and noticed that the
trail was in really good shape and didn’t have any big cracks that need to be repaired. We did
notice that it could be drained a little better at some parts of the trail because water was almost at
the side of the tar paths and if it was really crowded you could get a little muddy trying to avoid
people especially if you were cycling. We didn’t see a lot of people on the trail bit the ones we
did see were more adults over the age of 35 and we saw a smaller percentage of people under 35
but that could have been because of the time that we were at the park and the weather because it
was a pretty cold day. We also noticed that there were old benches on the trails that needed to be
upgraded to a better material for less maintenance over the wood benches.
7:
We also noticed further through the park that some of the trashcans were bent and need to be
fixed as well. As we followed the trail we saw several boats that were hidden in the wood and
this park doesn’t allow boats and that should be addressed by the park staff as well. The bridges
over the water were really in good shape at the park too and we saw lots of wildlife on the water
as well. Overall the park isn’t over 25 years old and doesn’t need much upgrading.
Program Development:
Lake Lynn is a man-made lake in Raleigh, North Carolina. The lake was created for
flood control purposes in 1996. Lake Lynn was made for the people in North Raleigh and the
housing around it. The population of North Raleigh is 72,505 and the age group is age 30 and
up. Lake Lynn Park spans 75 acres Surrounding North Raleigh's Lake Lynn is a 75-acre park
that is part of the city's extensive greenway system. On the north border of the lake is the Lake
Lynn Community Center, which opened in 1996. The facility includes a gymnasium, art room,
meeting room, weight room, basketball courts, and locker room. Outside amenities include
lighted tennis courts, a ballpark with batting cages, and a playground.
Park entrances are on Ray Road and Lynn Road, and both include paved lots with ample
parking space. Additionally, a greenway spur from Glen harden Drive on the lake's western
border enables pedestrians’ easy access the walking trails.
8:
Encircling the lake is a 2.1 mile paved and boardwalk-walking trail that follows a mildly
hilly terrain through the hardwood forest. The path is great for walking, jogging, rollerblading,
and cycling and for walking leashed dogs. Adjacent to the Lynn Road parking area are expansive
open fields that provide ample space for picnicking and a host of outdoor activities.
The lake's perimeter offers several natural accesses for fishermen. No boating facilities
are available, but privately owned rowboats, canoes, kayaks and sailboats frequently ply the calm
water. (Motor-propelled watercraft are prohibited).
At the shallow, north side of the lake, the trail follows a long boardwalk that extends over
the water and across several islands that have formed. Because the wild terrain directly north of
this area is marshy and undeveloped, it is not uncommon for pedestrians to encounter deer
grazing among the several creeks that feed the lake.
Even though the park is situated between established city neighborhoods, wildlife
abounds at Lake Lynn. There are plenty of opportunities to see ducks, geese and turtles sunning
on logs as well as squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks frolicking in the woodlands. For many years
9:
the lake has been home to several Great Blue Herons that are often seen stalking the shallows for
minnows.
The things that is missing from Lake Lynn that we saw was a need of a boating dock,
more trash cans because the distance between the spacing are far apart from one another, and
some new painting on the benches because they are old and rusty. Some things that we saw that
were good were the trails, and the pavement was pretty good as well. The pavement was smooth
and not cracked everywhere like other lakes. The tennis courts were in good shape and they have
lights around the court so you can go there and play at night. Which we thought was
awesome. Also the parking lot has nice spacing to drive your car through and it’s not crowded
like Lake Johnson.
Fitting Program Facilities to the Site
10:
Lake Lynn Park needs to have a relationship with different organizations and the community.
Since Lake Lynn Park is in the public sector it is best for it to partner with a non-profit and
private organizations. One of the most important relationships is with the community. This
relationship is important because the community is whom the park is for. While designing the
park you need to know what the community wants to incorporate it in the design. Another good
relationship to have is with soil conservation service. This is important because if you want to
build something to add to the facility you need to know where you are able to build. Otherwise
building something could get very expensive.
Estimated Cost and Funding Sources:
The first step that we will take will be to get a GIS map of the property. This will help us
get a better understanding of what we will be working with. We are given a budget of $100,000
to hire consultants to help us collect the data. We will go out and find the best consultants we
need to make sure that we gather all the correct data and create a perfect site design for the best
use of the land. After we have hired the right consultants, we will then take a tour of the property
to gather information about what needs to be done or upgraded to the property. We will have to
11:
take a look around the surrounding communities and meet with some of the people within the
community to see what is their wants and needs.
By choosing passive we will not have to spend too much on clearing space and we will
be able to keep the natural environment of the land. This will work well with the community.
This will give the community a place to relax in nature. People will exercise on the trail, and go
fishing without the distraction of the urban area.
Although in our opinion we didn’t see much wrong with the park. Wanted to upgrade the
some of the amenities at the park. One thing we wanted to upgrade was the benches around the
park. Some of the benches are old and need to be replaced. We plan to replace the benches with
biodegradable benches that will cost $100 each at this rate we could replace the benches every
year if we needed to. Another thing we wanted to do to the park is and boat docks to each side of
the lake. Adding these docks will improve how the trail looks because there won’t be a bunch of
boats chained to trees. This will also help the plant life around the lake because people won’t be
trampling them try to put their boats in the water. The boat docks will be made with Merco's
12:
galvanized steel press lock decking is welded steel grating and is the most popular choice where
high strength and durable decking material is needed. This system is great for commercial
applications on docks and ramps. The press lock decking is versatile, long lasting, and easy to
install. This is a great choice because after a flood it wouldn’t need any maintenance. We also
wanted to add and replace some of the trashcans around the trail and doing this will decrease the
likelihood of someone littering in the park. This is important because there are a lot of people
who live in the apartments that live around the lake and have direct access to the trail from their
apartment. We also want to repave the trail that will cost 100,320.the pavement has cracks in it in
some areas. We want to make the trail as comfortable as possible to be on to increase activity.
We want to paint the walkways so people don’t run into each other that will cost 20,000. Some
people ride bikes going different ways. We don’t want any accidents on the trail like between
someone pushing a stroller and someone riding a bike. We want to add 15 cameras around the
park to prevent any criminal actions from happening that will cost 15,000. Having a camera
system up and running with signs about it around the park would make people think twice about
doing something illegal in the area. We would also add in two more tennis courts that would cost
approximately 25,000. We feel that it would be a great addition because of the activities that the
community likes to participate in. We would also add in two more batting cages that will cost
4,300 together. We think this is need because right now there is only one batting cage. With three
batting cages it will allow more people to get practice in without having to wait a while. The last
thing we would do is upgrading the playground and make it more efficient would cost 13,000.
The kids are our future and we have to keep them safe. Therefore keeping the playground
upgraded at all times is important.
13:
Program Facticity
Trail
Benches
Unit
Price
$90.00
Trash Cans $120.00
Budget Table
Qty.
Subtotal
Citation
5
$450.00
http://www.rakuten.com
10
$1,200.00
http://www.uline.com
Boating
Dock
$2,000.00 2
$4,000.00
http://www.connectadock.com
16Cameras
15,000
1pack
15,000.00
http://www.brickhousesecurity.com
Painting
walkway
20,000
2miles 20,000.00
www.peeksafety.com
Batting
cage
4,300
2
www.battingcagesinc.com
Repaving
trails
100,320
2miles 100,320.00 www.amerasphalt.com
Tennis
court
12,500
2
25,000.00
http://www.nofaultsports.com
Playground 13,000
upgrade
1
13,000.00
www.belson.com
4,300.00
Total Budget: $183270.00
14:
Reference:
(2013,). North Raleigh demographics. Retrieved from Zillow website:
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/NC-Raleigh/North-Raleigh-people/r_270318/
(2013,). Lake Lynn Park. Retrieved from Triangle Wiki website:
https://trianglewiki.org/Lake_Lynn_Park