Vision Statement
| Our parks will be a source of pride and identity for neighborhood residents.They will provide a wide variety of recreational opportunities and willbe focal points for community activities throughout the year. The historiccharacter and uses of the parks will be maintained, while creatively integratingcurrent recreational activities compatible with neighborhood needs and resourcecapabilities. |
Neighborhood Goals
| Goal 1 | Designand construct pedestrian and bicycle paths along the Yahara River Parkway. |
|---|---|
| Goal 2 | Purchase additional lands adjacentto the Parkway for park and recreational use, when available. |
| Goal 3 | Enhance the Yahara River Parkwayby identifying improvements to existing parks, buildings, and structuresand promoting future uses adjacent to the parkway that will complement thearea. |
| Goal 4 | Improve and enhancethe landscaping along the Yahara River Parkway, including Burr Jones Field. |
| Goal 5 | During any redevelopment andenhancement efforts, be sure to sympathetically preserve the most significantaspects of the Parkway's historic character. |
| Goal6 | Fully implement James Madison Park Master Plan, andimprove public and handicapped access and awareness of the eastern portionof the park, while preserving its passive-use character. |
| Goal7 | Continue implementation of the Tenney Park Master Planas proposed, with an emphasis on the river parkway and proposed bike/pedestrianpath. |
| Goal 8 | Maintain andenhance the playground equipment, tennis courts, and recreational experienceat Reynolds Park. |
| Goal 9 | Maintainand enhance the quiet, passive uses of Giddings Park. |
| Goal10 | Preserve the historic character of Breese Stevens Field,and increase its accessibility for recreational activities by the neighborhood. |
| Goal 11 | Enhance the public use of street-endopen spaces. |
Top Recommendations
| 1. | Developa plan for the Yahara River Parkway that includes pedestrian and bicyclepaths providing cross-Isthmus routes between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona.Separate bicyclists from pedestrians when feasible. |
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| 2. | ImplementJames Madison Master Plan, recognizing that some of the facilities shouldnot be built until there is greater demand. |
| 3. | ImplementTenney Park Master Plan recognizing the need for increased vegetation management. |
Issue: James Madison Park provides a unique variety of activeand passive uses in a park-deficient area of the Old Market Place Neighborhood.The Isthmus has very few passive-use areas offering a peaceful setting andquiet lake views. The sensitive implementation of the Master Plan to preserveand enhance the unique characteristics of the park is imperative. Balancingincreased public awareness, handicapped accessibility, and passive useswill require open and frequent discussions with users, neighbors, and Parksstaff. Building additional structures should only be undertaken if a significantdemand exists and adequate resources are available for proper maintenance. | ||
| GOAL | RECOMMENDATION | IMPLEMENTATION |
|---|---|---|
Fully implement James Madison Park Master Plan, and improve public andhandicapped access and awareness of the eastern portion of the park, whilepreserving its passive character. | Implement the JamesMadison Master Plan, recognizing that some of the facilities should notbe built until there is greater demand. | Parks Division |
| Route the pedestrian/bike path to minimize loss ofgreenspace or intrusion on quiet areas. A path closer to the waterfrontwould bisect less park space and provide beautiful lake front vistas. Thebike path and service drive should follow the curve to the drive leadingfrom the Lincoln School apartments. | Parks Division | |
| Additional landscape plantings and weed species removalshould be undertaken to accent the meadow-like characteristics of the levelarea between the lake and the hill. Plantings could increase the possibilitiesof creating small niches and visual/noise barriers to enhance solitude. | Parks Division | |
| The formal garden,staircase and gazebo proposals should not be considered for immediate implementationbecause of concerns about the need, maintenance, and costs for such facilities.The proposed upper path behind the Collins homes should also be deferreduntil warranted. These proposed facilities could be expensive to constructand maintain. Deferring any construction will not preclude future developmentof such facilities if the need arises. | Parks Division | |
| Install an attractive sign at the proposed formal gardensite that would inform residents that this area is park space. | Parks Division | |
| The proposedplayground and shelter should also be given a lower priority or should beconsidered for the existing play area near the beach where youth activitiesare most prominent. | Parks Division | |
Issue: Tenney Park is one of the City of Madison's first parksand provides a wide variety of active and passive recreation for neighborsand residents of Madison and Dane County through all four seasons of theyear. This park has the potential to be "loved to death" if notproperly maintained. The poor water quality in the Lake and lagoon are aconcern to the neighborhood. The number of potentially competing users isincreasing. The Master Plan needs to balance open space and passive usewith more active use areas. Eliminating the loss of any additional greenspaceto paving and parking is essential. | ||
| GOAL | RECOMMENDATION | IMPLEMENTATION |
|---|---|---|
Continue implementation of the Tenney Park Master Plan as proposed, withan emphasis on the Yahara River Parkway and proposed bike/pedestrian paths. | Implement Tenney Park Master Plan recognizing the needfor increased vegetation management. | Parks Division |
| Continue with current master plan activities includingthe maintenance of buildings and grounds, landscape plantings, and winterice management. | Parks Division | |
| Increasethe maintenance of Tenney Park. One of the primary concerns is vegetationmanagement in the park. Park users recognize City staff resources are limited,but encourage the City to explore options for improved maintenance of parkvegetation and landscaping. | Parks Division | |
| Conduct an inventory of existing vegetation speciesand provide recommendations on weed species removal, enhanced plantingswith desirable species (sympathetic to historic park plan), vegetation maintenance,and suiTABLE cellpadding=10 modern improvements. | Parks Division | |
| Nominate Tenney Park and Yahara River Parkway to theNational Register of Historic Places and as local landmarks. | HistoricPreservation Section | |
| Evaluate traffic patternsand road uses in or adjacent to Tenney Park. Increase greenspace byremoving N. Thornton Avenue exit to E. Johnson Street; deny or severelyconstrain any future loss of greenspace for parking areas. | ParksDivision, Traffic Engineering Division | |
| Minimizebeach conflicts that arise between swimmers and boaters. One of theimprovements in the management of the beach area would be a diving raftnear the beach. | Parks Division | |
| Installhandicapped-accessible TABLE cellpadding=10s and benches in the park. | ParksDivision | |
| Improve the trails at the waterinlet structure for the lagoon. | Parks Division | |
| Update the Tenney Park Master Plan after the majorityof proposals identified in the current master plan are implemented. | Parks Division | |
Issue: Reynolds Park is a tremendous asset to the neighborhood.This park serves the neighborhood between E. Johnson Street and E. WashingtonAvenue. It provides a variety of recreational activities for residents ofall ages. | ||
| GOAL | RECOMMENDATION | IMPLEMENTATION |
|---|---|---|
Maintain and enhance the playground equipment, tennis courts, and recreationalexperience at Reynolds Park. | Purchase and installadditional playground equipment that will complement the existing playgroundstructures and provide a wider range of activities for children. TheTLOMP neighborhood will help in fund-raising activities. | ParksDivision |
| Ban alcoholic beverages from thepark. Reynolds Parks is located in close proximity to Lapham ElementarySchool. Neighborhood residents are concerned about broken glass in the parkarea and the hazards it poses for young children. | ParksDivision | |
| Maintain and enhance the tenniscourts over the reservoir. The tennis courts are used by neighborhoodresidents. Proper maintenance of the nets and court surface will improvethis facility. | Parks Division | |
Issue: Giddings Park is located along Lake Mendota at the streetend of N. Brearly Street. It is a small, quiet park that offers beautifullake vistas. The most active recreational uses are sledding. It also servesas an access point to the lake for swimming, canoeing, and ice fishing.Maintaining the quiet, passive use of Giddings Park is a high priority. | ||
| GOAL | RECOMMENDATION | IMPLEMENTATION |
|---|---|---|
Maintain and enhance the quiet, passive uses of Giddings Park. | Maintainthe quiet, passive uses of Giddings Park. Neighborhood residents supportthe current management objectives of passive recreational uses in the park. | Parks Division |
| With the inputfrom neighborhood residents, develop a vegetation plan for Giddings Park.The vegetation plan should include recommendations on the removal of weedyshrubs and trees, future plantings to enhance the area, and future vegetationmanagement strategies . | Parks Division | |
| EnhanceGiddings Park with minor physical improvements that are tailored to passiveuses. Such improvements to consider are the installation of benchesand picnic TABLE cellpadding=10s and the extension of an accessible paved path along thelakeshore. Protection of the lake shore from erosion is also essential. | Parks Division | |
| Evaluate thevacation of Brearly Street (north of Sherman Avenue intersection) to expandthe park. | Transportation Dept., Parks Division | |
| Issue: Breese Stevens Field is currently used only for organizedsporting events. It is not open to neighborhood use and is underutilized.Its structural character and past use give it a historic status in the city. | ||
| GOAL | RECOMMENDATION | IMPLEMENTATION |
|---|---|---|
Preserve the historic character of Breese Stevens Field, and increaseits accessibility for recreational uses by the neighborhood. | Supportthe nomination of Breese Stevens Field to the National and State Registersof Historic Places and as a local landmark. Breese Stevens Field isan excellent example of a Mediterranean Revival style grandstand. | HistoricPreservation Section, Parks Division |
| Pursuefunding (such as ISTEA/STEP funds) for the restoration of Breese StevensField and for other appropriate improvement projects. | ParksDivision | |
| Explore the availability of BreeseStevens Field to neighborhood users. Neighborhood residents would like tohave the types of uses and times of use expanded. | ParksDivision | |
| Issue: The City has worked with other neighborhoods to improvetheir publicly-owned street-end properties along the lakeshore. The Tenney-Lapham/OldMarket Place Neighborhood has a strong interest in pursuing similar improvementprojects. | ||
| GOAL | RECOMMENDATION | IMPLEMENTATION |
|---|---|---|
Enhance the public use of street end open spaces. | Enhancelakefront street-ends at N. Livingston and N. Paterson Streets. Inventoryvegetation, and improve lighting, benches, signage and aesthetics. Maintainpublic ownership and access to street ends by prohibiting leasing the streetends to private owners. | Parks Division, Streets Division |
Introduction
Summary of Neighborhood Issues
Summary of Recommendations
Neighborhood Boundaries
Neighborhood Profile
Relationship to the Isthmus Neighborhoods / Census Information
Community Services Recommendations
East Johnson Business District Recommendations
Housing Recommendations
Parks and Open Space Recommendations
Redevelopment Recommendations
Sidewalks, Streets, Terrace and Other Public Infrastructure Recommendations
Transportation Recommendations
Maps
Original Plat for Tenney Park
Neighborhood Asset Map
East Johnson Business District
Historic Districts and Landmarks
Tenney-Lapham / Old Market Place Neighborhood Zoning Map
Residential Structures Map