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Plans move forward to turn the downtown riverfront into a park Date published: 8/13/2003 By JODI BIZAR An elderly woman and her 5-year-old grandson attempted to take a stroll by the riverfront in downtown Fredericksburg on a sunny July day. It was a very short walk. There was a vagrant sleeping under the bridge, and the place was void of grass and walkable sidewalks. Plans are on tap to change that. The City Council is optimistic the downtown riverfront will be transformed into a park where seniors can take a stroll, children can play Frisbee and dogs can trot along in the grass. "I will expect that within the next two years you will see the beginnings of a park," said City Councilman Scott Howson. "You will see something very different than you see now." The council has been talking about revamping the riverfront for some time. Recently it doled out $25,000 for an engineering study to determine what needs to be repaired, particularly drainage and erosion problems. The next step is to accept bids from architects. Howson said the riverfront plan to date includes removing the unsightly parking lots and constructing multilevel parking garages in an area of the city not smack in front of the river. "Most important," Howson said, "it will be a linear park with lots of green space." The estimated price for this park is $500,000. The park would be used for picnics and festivities. It also would have signs with historic information, Howson said. Erik Nelson, city senior planner, said implementing those plans will probably be possible, because the engineering report is expected to show only minor, fixable problems such as the need for an improved drainage system. The drainage hasn't been updated since the 1970s, he said. "The report's not going to have any surprises, but we needed to get an engineering standpoint before we started any kind of construction," Nelson said. The City Council, at least at this point, is not planning an elaborate park like the San Antonio Riverwalk. "Our situation is totally unique," Howson said. He said there are similar parks along the Potomac, but nothing comparable to the way the Rappahannock runs through Fredericksburg. The riverfront project also calls for a pedestrian walkway to the river. "We're trying to make the city more walkable," Howson said. "Once we move the parking lot we hope to get people to park their cars and walk. Then there's a possibility of getting a shuttle bus." Once there is a riverfront park, the council hopes two things will be achieved--improving the quality of life for those who live here and increasing tourism, which currently draws hundreds of thousands of people to the area each year according to the National Park Service. "It'll be a good thing from several standpoints," Howson said. "Hopefully it won't be too long until there are people throwing a Frisbee and reading a book." To reach JODI BIZAR: 374-5000, ext. 5627 jbizar@freelancestar.com
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