City Council adopts proposed West Park Master Plan
The Murfreesboro City Council voted Thursday to approve a proposed Master Plan for development of the West Park on an area known as the McDonald farm property. The 123-acre parcel of land, purchased by the City in 2016, is bordered by Blackman Road, Burnt Knob Road, Veterans Parkway, and I-840 in the Blackman community.
The proposed Master Plan calls for 13 baseball/softball fields, 2 multi-use grass fields, 4 hard-surface multi-use courts, event space, walking trails, an interactive water feature/splash pad, playgrounds, and 7 picnic shelters.
A consensus for the proposed Master Plan developed after a conceptual design was presented to the Council in a workshop meeting, March 23. The Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Commission, Parks staff, and consultant Kimley-Horn Associates, Inc. re-configured the Master Plan following a joint meeting of the City Council and Commission in February. The Council and the Parks Commission held the joint meeting Thursday, Feb. 23 to review three preliminary conceptual designs for development of the West Park.
At the joint meeting Kimley-Horn outlined the three conceptual options and heard input from members of the Council and Commission. The preliminary designs were based on park needs developed from public input and an internal needs assessment. Options included athletic fields, event space, walking trails, playgrounds, splash pads, pavilions and multi-purpose space.
On Jan. 24, 2017, the Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation Department and Kimley-Horn held a public meeting at Blackman High School to gather input on features citizens would like to see in the new park. More than 800 residents either participated in the public meeting or provided public input. In June 2016, City Council purchased the 123-acre parcel of land bordered by Blackman Road, Burnt Knob Road, Veterans Parkway, and I-840 in the Blackman area known as the McDonald farm property for development of a West Park.
Kimley-Horn’s team of engineering, architectural and design companies are coordinating acommunity visioning effort, focus groups, land-owner meetings, and a community meeting ahead of construction. The team will also conduct surveys, base mapping, preliminary concept development, architectural concepts and a final master plan.
The Parks Department has indicated that Murfreesboro is short of recreational fields, according to National Recreation and Parks Association standards.
On a separate matter, Council adopted resolutions in acknowledgement and support of the Historic Bottoms Planning Study and the Highland Planning Study. Both were adopted by the Murfreesboro Planning Commission in March.
