Case Study Assignment

Mini Master Plan for Shoshone Park

One Page Handout and Script included PowerPoint presentation included Final Report provided List of Figures, Appendix, and Reference list included

Shoshone Park Mini Master Plan

Presented by: Frankie Zhou, James Metzger, Kaitlyn Fernandez, Caitlin Chan

INTRODUCTION

● Located in 1978 Hertel Ave, Buffalo, NY 14214 ● Shoshone Park was built between 1930s-1940s ● Roughly the size of 16.5 acres and surrounded by mostly residential buildings ● Home to HNPYBL (Hertel North park Youth Baseball League) since 1957 ● New York State Senator Chris Jacobs announce that they secured $1,000,00 in state funding for construction of a new multipurpose indoor athletic complex ● Proposed plans for land redevelopment behind the park include possible housing or another proposal from

The Greenway Group

STATE OF AFFAIRS

● Contains various types of sporting area ○ 5 baseball diamonds, 2 softball diamonds, 1 tee ball diamond ○ Batting cages, poorly maintained though

○ Basketball court, Street Hockey area

● Field house: Contains snack shack, equipment storage, bathrooms ● Pool taken out in 2019 to make space for new addition of the indoor sports ● Great access to public transportation and parking lot ○ Short walk to LaSalle station and bus stops of Hertel and Main ○ Park itself has a parking lot and ample street parking on the other side of the park

● Budget concerns: Buffalo’s shrinking tax base makes it a hard sell to invest and maintain parks ● Safety has been a concern in the park: The park has a reputation for not being safe

PEOPLE

o Population Density ○ The average population density in 2018 between the 3 census tracts was 5,046 people ○ 49% were females, while 51% were males; almost as many females as males when combined

○ Most are between the ages of 20-39 years old

o Racial Makeup ○ Majority of the population within the 3 census tracts are white, which account for 54% ○ The second largest group is African American with 33% of the population

o Disabilities o Within census tracts 45 and 46.01, majority are White females between the ages of 35-64 years old ○ While the majority of those in census tract 47 are African American females between the ages of 3564 years old

o User Survey/Observation ○ 8 question survey, 12 individuals surveyed (November 23, 2020 - November 26, 2020) RECOMMENDATIONS

● Improved Lighting, Stormwater Filtering ● Improve current entrances and implement new entrances ● Enhancements to Park Safety/Security

Shoshone Park Mini Master Plan

University at Buffalo

[Script]

{Speaker CC}

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Presenters: Frankie Zhou, James Metzger, Kaitlyn Fernandez, Caitlin Chan

Special Thanks to: Shoshone Park Management

Facilitated by: Andrew P. Schaefer

INTRODUCTION

● History

○ Located in 1978 Hertel Ave, Buffalo, NY 14214

○ Shoshone Park was built between 1930s-1940s ○ Roughly the size of 16.5 acres and surrounded by mostly residential buildings ○ Relatively close to McCarthy Park, this smaller and older park shows as much of an importance to the community as every other park in the Buffalo Park System ● Background ○ Home to HNPYBL (Hertel North park Youth Baseball League) since 1957 ○ Roughly 1,000 athletes use the baseball/softball fields per season ○ To combat rough weather and exposure to being outside New York State Senator Chris Jacobs joined with Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown and Common Council members Joel Feroleto and Rasheed Wyatt to announce that they secured $1,000,00 in state funding for construction of a new multipurpose indoor athletic complex ○ Proposed plans for land redevelopment behind the park include possible housing or another proposal from The Greenway Group; made up of north Buffalo and University Heights residents is trying to convince the City to acquire the land from the N-F-T-A so $1.4 million in federal funds, allocated for the rail tracks, can be used for a bike path.

○ Improper maintenance has become an urgent issue due to old fixtures that could possibly cause harm to park visitors, safety while is enforced needs to be reevaluated

● Context ○ Neighborhood park for local residents besides those who travel for baseball and softball games ○ Easy access to Public Transit can be a major factor for encouraging people to travel to the park willingly

○ Prevalent Deterioration

{Speaker JM}

STATE OF AFFAIRS

● Contains various types of sporting areas and a playground  5 baseball diamonds, 2 softball diamonds, 1 tee ball diamond ○ Batting cages, poorly maintained though

○ Basketball court

○ Street Hockey area

○ Basic playground, decent size, nothing special

 Field house

○ In good shape/ relatively new

○ Contains snack shack, equipment storage, bathrooms

o Pool taken out in 2019 to make space for new addition of the indoor sports o Currently empty lot o Seating an issue ● Most of the seating in the park is broken and in need of heavy repairing or replacement ■ Some new benches but not enough

● Spots of graffiti

○ Mostly on the batting cages

■ Nothing profane but an eye sore

● Patchy grass

○ Areas that are heavily traversed worn through, also where the pool used to be

OPPORTUNITIES

● “Good Bones”

 Everything need and coming to become the little league hub of Buffalo ■ From the diamonds to the new sports complex

○ Just in need of some love to get there

 New additions of the indoor sports complex

○ Scheduled to be done by 2021 but may be delayed because of COVID

○ For indoor soccer, lacrosse, and baseball

● Great access to public transportation and parking lot  Short walk to LaSalle station and bus stops of Hertel and Main ○ Park itself has a parking lot and ample street parking on the other side of the park

● End of the rails to trails  The end of the rails to trails connects this park to a larger network of bike trails ● Location

 North Buffalo has many amenities in the area such as restaurants and ice cream shops ○ Neighborhood is walkable

○ Lots of children in the area ~13% of the people in the immediate area are under 14 years of age

CHALLENGES

 Budget concerns  Buffalo’s shrinking tax base makes it a hard sell to invest and maintain parks ● Safety has been a concern in the park ○ The park has a reputation for not being safe

■ User survey average response was a 1.9, 1 being unsafe 5 being extremely safe

● Buffalo winters

○ Having equipment that can survive many harsh long winters is a must

○ Usability in some form during winter

● Accessibility

○ Despite close proximity to various methods of transportation some of them are not safely connected or obviously marked

■ LaSalle station would have to walk across busy park and ride parking lot or down

Main and Hertel

■ Parking lot not noted on Hertel

○ In the park there are not a lot of handicapped accessible options

■ Park is relatively flat though

■ Mostly for children on the playground

● Competition from other parks

 For funding

■ Other parks are bigger and draw more people thus get more funding

 For traveling to

■ With other parks offering more and perceived safety they are more likely to be used more

● COVID-19  Public spaces have been not so attractive ■ Especially parks that are not seen as too clean

○ There is signage to educate how to properly socially distance and wear a mask

○ Removal of things like basketball hoop rims and hockey nets to prevent large gatherings

{Speaker KF}

PEOPLE

Demographics

○ Data was taken from the U.S. Census 2018 American Community Survey 5-year estimates and OpenData Buffalo

○ Contains census tract 45, 46.01, and 47, which Shoshone Park is either in or the surrounding area around the park

○ The characteristics of the data collected are population density (age and gender), racial makeup, disabilities, means of transportation and crime rates

Population Density

○ The average population density in 2018 between the 3 census tracts was 5,046 people

○ 49% were females, while 51% were males; almost as many females as males when combined

○ Most are between the ages of 20-39 years old

○ Majority of the population is younger ● Racial Makeup

○ Majority of the population within the 3 census tracts are white, which account for 54%

○ The second largest group is African American with 33% of the population

○ Asians make up a small amount of 11% of the population ● Disabilities

○ Can range from physical, intellectual, cognitive, emotional, or psychiatric

○ Within census tracts 45 and 46.01, majority are White females between the ages of 35-64 years old

○ While the majority of those in census tract 47 are African American females between the ages of 35-64 years old ● Means of Transportation to Work

○ 76% of residents between the three census tracts either own or have access to a car; which means that majority of people are able to get to the park

○ There is a lack of public transportation in these areas and only accounts for about 13.2% of the population

○ On the other hand, only about 1% of the population bicycle

Crime Rates

○ Taken from OpenData Buffalo, crimes rates from 2018 that include property crimes and violent crimes

○ In 2018, there were reported an average of 884 violent crimes in the three census tracts; whereas 2,342 were property crimes, all per 1,000 residents

○ Census tract 47 had the most property and violent crimes that the City of Buffalo alone

{Speaker CC}

USER SURVEY/OBSERVATION

● 8 question survey ● 12 individuals surveyed ● November 23, 2020 - November 26, 2020 ● Each taken at a different timestamp ● Overall partially the reason for little visitors is because of the pandemic and lack of interest ● Lack of enjoyment draws people away from the park, if there is nothing to do besides walking around then individuals are most likely to stay home ● New features that is inclusive for all types of people will cause an increase in visitors without a doubt

{Speaker FZ}

RECOMMENDATIONS

Improve Lighting

● The average rating for feeling of safety among participants was considerably low.

● Park goers of Shoshone are generally hesitant to go at night or when it is dark out and this can be tied to the area’s reputation of crime.

● So the first recommendation will be to improve lighting.

● These new lamps would consist of sensory lights that only turn on when there are people in its proximity which would also benefit the environment by keeping its carbon footprint low.

● a study by Crime Labs also revealed that not only can environmental design affect crime rate, but that investments in changes to the physical environment such as new street lights can “augment the city’s efforts to promote public safety”

● These sensory lights should be installed near every entrance to the park, making each entrance more visually appealing. ● New lights should be implemented along the entire path as well as the places that would be accessed the most at night, which are the ones concentrated in the highlighted circles. ● These areas include the areas close to the entrances and parking lots, the playground, and the basketball courts.

Enhancements to Park Safety/Security

● On the topic of safety, the next recommendation would be to enhance park security. ● One method could be to implement an enhanced park safety security unit who would monitor Shoshone a lot more often. ● There is currently no park patrol present on site and only the buffalo police are present to monitor the area from time to time ● So park patrol would definitely boost the safety levels dramatically. ● In addition to that, another recommendation is to add emergency poles similar to the ones on UB’s campus, allowing for people in need of help to call.

Stormwater Filtering

● Because of its location, Shoshone park experiences heavy rainfall and snowfall many times year round. ● The drainage problems that occur in these events render the majority of the park rather unusable for long periods of time. ● Which is why the next recommendation is to runoff and filter excess stormwater. ● Taking a page from Houston’s Gene Green Beltway Park. A large percentage of this park’s plant life combat flooding and drainage issues. ● The park’s design consists of filtering systems bioswale channels that filter stormwater. ● There is also a meandering stream that runs through the park that also aids in removing water from the park’s facilities. ● Therefore, the first step for this recommendation consists of adding bioswales around the parking lots.

● The other step is to construct runoff streams near the perimeters of the diamonds that would collect and transport water in a storm off the site and into storage units. ● The collected water could then be reused to irrigate the vegetation.

Improve Current Entrances and Implement New Entrances

● The specific changes that are recommended will take inspiration from one of many entrances to New York City’s Central Park. ● Firstly, adding and centralizing a decorative sculpture of some sort would definitely add to the welcoming experience. ● A possible choice could be a statue of a famous baseball player as it would seem fitting. ● Second, it would be very beneficial to expand the size of the sidewalk and paths at the entrance. ● The fact that Shoshone is surrounded by residential areas means there is a good amount of people who walk as the main method of traveling to the park. z ● A wider, more open area can allow more people to come and go while increasing overall activity. ● As for the lot renovation, there are talks of changing the use of the parking lot. In fact, the

NFTA have already held discussions over changing ownership of the land with the city of

Buffalo. ● It is suggested that the fastest way to get to the baseball diamonds for vehicle commuters would be from the LaSalle parking lot. ● If there was a way for those who park here to cut directly to the diamonds without walking all the way around, it would make movement within Shoshone a lot easier. ● Making this the entrance would allow for that. ● It could relieve traffic on Main and Hertel because people would no longer need to circle around Shoshone to park when coming from LaSalle.

Additional Indoor Facilities

● Like Caitlin and James mentioned earlier, plans to develop a “game changing” indoor

facility is currently underway.

● More indoor spaces would also tackle the drainage issues that occur after rain or snowfall by allowing for more activity inside when the weather is bad. ● Which is why additional facilities would be very beneficial for, not only the livelihood of the park but the overall functionality as well. ● The most practical implementation method would be to turn most of the unused space into sites for construction for the new buildings. ● The first would be to expand beyond the existing grounds that Shoshone covers.

Removal of certain land could allow for this, like section C.

● Turning this space, section B, into sites for indoor facilities would make the most sense in terms of additional facilities because it would be in close proximity to the current one that is planned which is section A.

{Speaker CC}

CONCLUSION

● Keep in mind the handout has all the important information regarding Shoshone Park ● Thank you for your time and cooperation ● Please stay warm and be careful when traveling outside