[Vision2020] Playfields

[Bruce and Jean Livingston]

Jeff, I think you and I agree on almost everything you have said here.

I am not sure what your point about a "shared resource" in the arboretum is, 
however.  It seems to me that part of the ambience of that resource is the 
solitude.  However, I agree that the ballfields ought to be able to be built 
with sound curtailed through directional engineering or abolition/limitation 
of the sound system.  I enjoyed huge/multiple softball and soccer field 
parks in Forest Park in St. Louis, and they worked just fine without a sound 
system, big tournaments and all.

In short, a park with ball fields seems like a great idea that nobody is 
opposing, it is the scale/lights/sound that is drawing objections.  I think 
we ought to be able to get the community together on this one, both the 
ballfield seeking community at large and the most-impacted immediate 
neighborhood, which will be getting a treasure if this is done right -- as 
you point out.  Sound and lights can be eliminated, or modified with 
concurrence of the local neighborhood -- if we engineer this correctly.

I really don't think that we have to ram this down the throats of the local 
neighborhood and that it can be peaceably worked out in timely fashion, not 
delaying it for years as some fear.  A can-do attitude and willingness to 
discuss options in the interest of all should make this proposal acceptable 
to all and of benefit to all.

I agree that we need the ballfields in this community.  Let's do them, and 
in a way so they work for all.

Bruce Livingston




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff Harkins" <jeffh at moscow.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 10:47 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] Playfields


> After watching the "playfield issue" for several weeks now, some 
> observations:
>
> 1. Youth sports activities are an important element of a family oriented 
> community.  Having survived youth soccer for several years (as a licensed 
> coach, licensed referee, soccer association board member and co-founder of 
> the Palouse 5-a-side soccer tournament), I can easily attest to the 
> importance of additional playfields to meet the demand for youth and 
> community activities.  Hours and hours of negotiation with Parks and Rec, 
> U of I, and churches were necessary to find marginal practice and play 
> areas for youth soccer.  Similar negotiations were necessary for community 
> members involved in softball, baseball, cross country, etc.  There are 
> more youth involved in those activities today than there were when I was 
> actively participating.
>
> 2. With youth soccer, the N. Idaho league is very-well established (Coeur 
> d'Alene, Post Falls, Tri-Cities, Lewiston, Spokane).  Our facilities are 
> not on a par with those communities against which the Moscow teams 
> compete.  New soccer fields would help to increase the number of venues we 
> are able to host here.  That not only benefits our local businesses (and 
> gets young folks in proximity to U of I, but also helps our local 
> parents - additional fields could make it possible for our teams to host a 
> few more venues so our parents and kids have a few less trips out of town. 
> I have heard from numerous parents, whose kids are involved in other 
> active team sports, expressing similar views.
>
> 3. My former residence (Conestoga Dr) is just up the hill from the 
> proposed location and I am quite familiar with the terrain/proximity 
> issues.  The proposed location would seem to be ideally suited to allow 
> the hundreds of young folks and active adults in the Frontier and adjacent 
> neighborhoods easy access to a large playfield. It would be a site 
> well-suited to anecdoctal frisbee playing, tag, pickup games, 
> skateboarding, etc. in addition to active team sports.  It also has great 
> visibility from Palouse River Drive so activities of the young folks would 
> be observable.  Coincidentally, I vividly recall how important the 
> development of the small park - just east of proposed site - was to the 
> neighborhood.  Dozens of neighbors worked to make that small strip park 
> happen.  But that site is ill-equipped to handle the more active youth 
> team sports.
>
> 4. The site location would lend itself to development of a bike trail 
> extension - connecting with the existing trail system - this would likely 
> have great appeal to the community.
>
> 5. Moscow is very well suited to handling a couple of hundred visitors for 
> a youth team event.  After all, our community hosts a number of athletic 
> events weekly that attract thousands of visitors (UI team sports)- and it 
> doesn't seem to affect the overall ambiance of our life here in a college 
> town.  Quite the contrary, it seems to energize our community.  If there 
> are concerns about traffic flow, then bring some of our local civil 
> engineers in to reframe the access/egress issues.  But the limited amount 
> of traffic involved, relative to the traffic issues that are presented in 
> that neighborhood during football weekends is seemingly trivial.
>
> 6. The sound system issue seems quite easy to resolve.  We have numerous 
> sound engineers in the community - engage them to design and test various 
> configurations and measure the decibel levels in the neighboring areas.  I 
> am quite confident that the sound level can be designed to specifications 
> that would produce sound at levels far below other noise systems (Greek 
> Row, Kibbie Dome, etc.).
>
> I cannot help but think about the success of the LCSC participation in 
> baseball and the benefits that venue has provided to the Lewiston area.  I 
> have visited their baseball stadium (a far more extensive facility than 
> proposed here) and have walked the neighborhood around their facility. The 
> noise emanating from that facility is far less than the noise levels 
> imposed on East City Park neighbors numerous times a year.  But, the 
> benefits of all those folks having fun far outweigh the costs imposed by 
> their facility - it seems likely that a similar experience could be had 
> here.
>
> 7.  I am quite surprised by the "Arboretum issue".  The Arboretum is not a 
> private park intended for only a designated segment of the Moscow 
> community.  It is a public facility that is intended to educate the public 
> about the importance of managed green space areas.  Providing visitors to 
> our community close proximity to the Arboretum, especially young people, 
> helps to expose them to the importance of the green-space resource.  A 
> playfield space adjacent to the Arboretum provides an opportunity to 
> extend the Arboretum into the playfield area.  This may be our best chance 
> to develop our own version of  a "Julia Davis" resource.
>
> But, bottom line, the Arboretum is a shared resource and the more we can 
> share it, the more people will learn from it and respect it - and more 
> than likely provide resources to  continue its development.  The proposed 
> athletic facility would offer the Arboretum an opportunity to extend the 
> managed "green space" to include a river/stream ecosystem.  Wow!
>
> 8. Finally, consider the long-term development of the Palouse River Drive 
> area.  It is not a matter of whether that area will develop, but how and 
> what will find its way into that corridor.  Placing a large "green space" 
> there can be a significant footprint that will impact that neighborhood in 
> very positive ways.  For example, if the 95 bypass can be constructed just 
> west of there (along the ID/WA border), traffic issues are now routed away 
> from this site.  Access would be convenient for all.  Industrial 
> development would be curtailed or at least divided/segmented.
>
> The proposed project warrants approval - amend what needs to be amended to 
> deal with pertinent issues - and get the facility into play.
>
>
>
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