Council approves annexation and zoning of land for West Park

The Murfreesboro City Council voted Thursday to approve annexation and zoning of 120.5 acres for development of a West Park, which will include adjacent roadway widening.

Approval followed public hearings on the proposed annexation and zoning during the regular meeting of the Council.  Council voted to annex approximately 120.5 acres for the future park, and voted to zone 116.9 acres of the property to P (Park) and 3.6 acres to CH (Commercial Highway). The 3.6-acre portion of City property is located south of I-840 and will not be developed as part of the park.

The Murfreesboro City Council voted April 13 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, and Vaughn Road in the Blackman community.

Other action taken by Council as part of the park development includes:
• On April 13, Council approved initial design and engineering for widening Burnt Knob Road to five lanes from Blackman Road to Veterans Parkway.  Plans include a traffic signal at the intersection of Burnt Knob and Blackman Road.

The Council-approved Master Plan for the park 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.

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.

Kimley-Horn’s team of engineering, architectural and design companies are coordinating a community 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.