The entrance pavilions, play environment and spray plaza form the core of the Platform activities, located near the center of the site and easily accessible from the 410-space parking area to the west served by new park entry points along Rogers Street. The entrance pavilions feature two separate buildings that form a gateway entrance into the park; the buildings would contain restrooms, concessions, and some park maintenance/storage functions. The play environment differs from a traditional playground by including custom-designed play features such as climbing walls, mounds, and rope structures that encourage active play and create an innovative, artistic play experience; a nearby shelter provides space for picnics and small gatherings.
The following pages provide illustrations of the final Master Plan and more detailed recommendations related to environmental remediation, ecological restoration, stormwater mitigation, utilities, access and circulation, land use, and potential catalyst projects in areas surrounding the park.
I ntr oduc tion
The arrangement of active uses along the B-Line Trail recalls the long north to south stretches of parallel railroad sidings that once dominated the Switchyard landscape. Features such as the playground, spray plaza, skatepark, entry pavilions, grand shelter, north forecourt, and garden beds take on a variety of linear forms that reinforce the historic trace of tracks and train cars that once sat side by side in the same location. Dubbed the “Platform,” this linear park element is further defined by a ground plane of paver materials and plantings of trees and perennials. The B-Line passes along the western edge of the platform allowing users to walk, run, or ride uninterrupted along the entire length of the park or peel off and easily access the many activities of the Platform.
East of the Platform, the 7.5- acre Great Lawn provides space for large civic events, performances and informal play. Featuring a performance stage and pavilion, seating berms and terraces, a trace of the former railroad roundhouse, shade trees, native plantings, and surrounding pathways, the Great Lawn can accommodate gatherings up to 10,000+ people in multiple configurations as well as informal play and picnics. A limestone creek terrace provides access to Clear Creek east of the Great Lawn, allowing for seating and enjoyment of the riparian environment.
Final Recommendations • The master plan includes enhancements to the Clear Creek stream channel – including restoration of meander to the section within the park boundaries, natural stone weirs to encourage aeration and varying depths, bank stabilization and erosion control – wetland restoration, invasive species removal, native tree, shrub and understory plantings, and a soft surface trail system utilizing both restored and new bridges across the channel. • As a vast majority of the Clear Creek corridor is privately owned, the master plan recommends a long term strategy of consisting of conservation easements or land donations to enable the restoration of the corridor. • This master plan is based on the pursuit of a revised LOMR (Letter of Map Revision) to redefine the floodplain limits, as outlined in the Analysis Phase of the master plan. • Benefits of the revised LOMR range from reduced numbers of flood insurance policies, to a smaller floodplain, and a smaller floodway. Sizing of new bridges along the stream will also be smaller. • The majority of stormwater will be handled through infiltration. Increased vegetation and ground cover will reduce runoff of contaminates and erosion of the existing stream banks. Installation of pervious pavers in the parking lots will add to the ability to treat storm-water on site. Installation of storm-water treatment structures in and around the proposed parking lots is essential to maintaining run-off of debris and contaminants within the urban park.
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Master Plan Narrative (See Figure 5.01) The overall design concept begins with an organization of design elements that responds to the existing site conditions. Active design components are concentrated along the western edge of the site in a linear fashion, which helps to activate the B-Line, promote safety and surveillance of park activities, and focus more intensive park development in areas that were previously disturbed and developed by the railroad. More passive design components are then concentrated along the eastern side of the site, which better accommodates the larger open spaces of the park, preserves the vegetation along the riparian corridor, reduces impacts to the floodway, and employs a lighter “footprint” of park activities in the more highly sensitive natural areas.
Moving further north along the B-Line, the Platform takes on a different appearance with bridges that carry the B-Line and the pathway along the eastern edge of the Platform across a stream corridor formed by daylighting of underground culvert pipes. A skatepark featuring a circuit of linear skating elements is located adjacent to the stream, which provides some separation between the skate and spray areas. The North Forecourt, featuring a 510foot long formal lawn area, lies north of the skatepark; bounded by walkways, trees, and a northern gateway marker for the park, the forecourt will accommodate formal and informal gatherings and civic events. North of the forecourt a secondary park entry off of Grimes Lane provides access to a 65-space parking area, a bike rental facility, a basketball court, bocce and pickle ball courts, a restroom and maintenance facility and a community garden center.
rooms” are established between the two parallel trails to provide safe access and surveillance of the trail. The Indiana Railroad trail continues north to connect with the existing sidepath along Rogers Street.
PL AN
The master plan outlines a bold vision that would transform the former switchyard site into a signature urban park through innovative design and forward thinking, restorative environmental strategies. This vision incorporates the site’s unique history and identity while establishing a premier destination that can foster future development in the surrounding community. It aims to create a park experience that is unique to Bloomington through reconnection of the site with the city, the treatment of the entire site as a work of public art, and the establishment of public open space for civic engagement and celebration.
The spray plaza features in ground spray nozzles that can be programmed for animated spray patterns and dramatic nighttime lighting effects; a small shelter is also included within the spray plaza zone to provide shade and picnic opportunities. Between the spray and play areas lies an open entrance plaza featuring raised garden beds with seatwalls; the entry plaza serves as the primary B-Line crossing point for park visitors. On the east edge of the Platform are a series of raised, display garden beds that form the transition to the Great Lawn; a Grand Shelter that accommodates up to 500 people is located along this edge as well. An artistic gateway feature spans the B-Line and forms the southern terminus of the Platform.
MA S T E R
PHASE FOUR: MASTER PLAN The final Master Plan for Switchyard Park is a result of community input on the two alternative plans prepared at the Design Workshop, which helped to inform decisions made by the design team and the Parks Department for the final direction of the master plan.
To the northeast of the Great Lawn, a new park entry point is established off of Walnut Street, creating an entry drive that accesses a 85-space parking area and connects to Hillside Drive. A park shelter is situated atop the highest point in the park north of the entry drive, overlooking the Clear Creek corridor and the Great Lawn beyond. South of the Great Lawn, a nearly 7-acre area is set aside between the B-Line and the Clear Creek Corridor for a dog park, which can be divided into two 3.5-acre parcels for proper management and rotation of use. Each section of the dog park includes appropriate containment fencing, access control, entry plaza and shelter. South of the dog park the existing B-Line Trail is enhanced with native plantings, connections to the adjacent neighborhood, and a restroom/maintenance building at the southern terminus at Country Club Road. The existing Indiana Railroad soft-surface path which parallels the B-Line will be groomed and upgraded for universal accessibility, while “picnic
SWITCHYARD PARK MASTER PLAN
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