Terminal Park improvements

Walk in the Park

When George Rowe developed the Terminal Park subdivision in 1913, his subdivision plat included the dedication of Auburn's first park – Terminal Park. In fact, he titled the entire subdivision the same name assigned to the park – Terminal Park. Terminal Park's Park was in 1913 and remains today a key landmark of the neighborhood.

Terminal Park's Park

Terminal Park is the only dedicated parkland within the neighborhood. It is a 1.2-acre park development at the intersection of C Street and 12th Street. The park is approximately 75 wide and 600 long. In the center of the park is playground equipment surrounded by sand. The remainder of the park contains a lawn along with mature trees scattered throughout. Typical park users tend to be parents with small children. Along the west side of the park is C Street – a twenty-four foot roadway. Drivers often park their automobiles along this portion of C Street while they use the park. Given the narrow roadway, their vehicles constrict the rest of C Street into just one lane.

City of Auburn's Park Plan Recommendations

In the City of Auburn's Park Plan, Terminal Park is referred to as a neighborhood park and, due to its small size, as a mini-park. Neighborhood parks typically contain playground equipment and landscaped vegetation. They are designed primarily for non-supervised, non-organized recreational activities. Neighborhood parks are intended to serve the residents within half-mile radius from the park. Terminal Park is one of twelve neighborhood parks located within the city.

The City's Park Plan recommends six acres of developed parks per 1,000 residents. The Terminal Park neighborhood has an estimated population of 1,500 residents. Using the Park Plan's recommended standard, Terminal Park residents would need nine acres of developed parkland. The 1.2 acres offered by Terminal Park falls significantly short of this recommended standard. Luckily two other facilities offer open spaces that residents can use for recreational purposes. Terminal Park Elementary School has a three-acre playfield along with playground equipment. Holy Family Catholic Church offers residents access to roughly 6.5 acres of open spaces, most of which are grassy fields. Combined these three facilities offer Terminal Park residents over ten acres of developed parks and open fields.

Open Space Corridor

Terminal Park is a neighborhood landmark because it connects all of the other playgrounds and open fields. On the north end of Terminal Park is Terminal Park Elementary School and on the south end of the park is Holy Family Catholic Church. These three facilities create a park and open space corridor that extends from 10th Street to 17th Street. This corridor of playgrounds, playfields and open spaces makes the neighborhood an attractive place to live for both current and future residents.
{ Map of Open Spaces in Terminal Park Neighborhood }

Sustainability Issues

The sustainability of this corridor of parks, playgrounds and open spaces is a major concern. Three separate property owners own each facility. If the Catholic Church develops its existing open spaces, or if they start prohibiting the public use of these open spaces; then the amount of property available for recreational use drops to 4.5 acres, which is approximately half of the recommended standard. Therefore, a key strategy in the Terminal Park Neighborhood Plan ought to be the preservation of existing parks and open spaces.

Terminal Park Neighborhood Park Plan

The Terminal Park Neighborhood Plan proposes to link existing open spaces and parks together through the development of pedestrian pathways. The Plan anticipates the needs associated with future growth by recommending the development of the open spaces south of the White River Presbyterian Church into a ball field. The Plan recommends various improvements to Terminal Park's Park that will make it a "gateway" to the recreational and open-space properties that surround it. Finally, the Plan proposes to connect the parks and open spaces of Terminal Park with the developed playfields at Olympic Middle School and Pioneer Elementary School through the development of the "Pioneer Bike Path".

TPPP #1: Preserve and enhance the existing recreational and open spaces located in the Terminal Park neighborhood.

Strategy: Seek collaborative relationships and partnerships with the Auburn School District, White River Presbyterian Church and Holy Family Catholic Church whereby neighborhood residents can use and enjoy the open spaces provided by these agencies.

TPPS #2: Develop and maintain Terminal Park Park as a "gateway" that connects the recreational and open space properties around it.

Strategy: Improve the appearance and utility of Terminal Park by replacing the existing fence, installing picnic facilities and a curb along the western border.

TPPS #3: Tie all of the open spaces and recreational assets of the Terminal Park neighborhood together through a system of pedestrian pathways that use existing rights-of-way and promote a safe linkage to nearby schools, community activity centers, shopping, and other neighborhoods.

Strategy: Develop a recreational loop trail that begins at Terminal Park at the intersection of C Street and 12th Street and proceeds south to 17th Street, east to F Street, north to 12th Street and then back to Terminal Park.

Strategy: Design a bicycle path that connects Pioneer Elementary School to Olympic Middle School to Terminal Park recreational loop trail.

Strategy: Enhance the walkability of the neighborhood by planting trees along F Street, G Street and H Street between 17th Street and 12th.

• Terminal Park Recreational Loop Trail
• Boulevard with trees