Master Plan: Shoelace Park

In partnership with the Bronx River Alliance, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and local communities, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects has developed a master plan for the Shoelace Park on the Bronx River Greenway. The master plan makes structural proposals for immediate improvements to the river health while guiding future park development over the next several decades that include program elements for a variety of uses. More after the jump.

Project Description via MNLA:

Who called the city an asphalt jungle? New York City is beaches and riverbanks, groomed parks and even remnants of virgin forest – close to 30,000 acreas of parkland. An underappreciated natural gen is the Bronx River, winding its twenty-three miles from Westchester to the Bronx. In Mathews Nielsen’s master plan for Shoelace Park in the Bronx, developed with the Bronx River Alliance and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, we introduced new landscape strategies for this riparian ecosystem. We resolved sensitive issues affecting floodplains, from erosion to soil deposition, implemented sustainable stormwater initiatives, and enhanced the river’s wildlife habitats.

The project was as much about people as places. Along the park that fronts the river, we strove to create healthy conditions for an urban ecosystem, maintaining open green space and preserving a historic stretch of the Bronx River Parkway as part of the biking and pedestrian greenway. Through a website and an on-line survey, we involved a local community concerned about safe recreation. And when we needed some truly grass-roots input, we created the Shoelace Park Youth Design Team to help with our design process.

Client: Bronx River Alliance & NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
Location: Bronx, NY
Completed: 2010
Construction Value: $31.3M

Master Plan
Introduction to Shoelace Park | Part A, Part B, Part C
Existing Conditions of Shoelace Park | Part A, Part B, Part C
Recommendations for Shoelace Park | Part A1, Part A2, Part B, Part C

Sources:
Bronx River Alliance – www.bronxriver.org
Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects – www.mnlandscape.com
Shoelace Park – shoelacepark.bronxriver.org