March 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50

OPERATIONS
Revitalizing Iron Horse Park
By Matthew Ostermeyer, Ph.D.
T
he story of the revitalization of Iron Horse Park near downtown
Tucson, Arizona, is a six-year-and-counting journey filled with
community advocacy, persistence, resourcefulness, creativity and
collaboration. The historic Iron Horse Neighborhood Association
(IHNA) spearheaded efforts to improve its local neighborhood park
after a string of violent crimes, starting in 2016.
space so close to the urban core of
Tucson. After coming to the realization
that
city
resources
were
going to limit meaningful action in
2017, I decided to reach out to the
UArizona Landscape Architecture
department.
Dr. Kelly Cederberg, who teaches
a graduate student studio class
in landscape architecture and was
also a resident in the Iron Horse
neighborhood,
enthusiastically
agreed to use the park for capstone
projects in fall of 2018. Cederberg's
students spent extensive time in the
neighborhood and park, collecting
data and participating in IHNA
meetings throughout the semester.
Additionally, the Tucson Police
Students from a University of Arizona
studio class in landscape architecture
created design concepts for the new
Iron Horse Park.
Being a member of this community,
I live across the street from this
park and serve as a board member
in the IHNA. Prior to becoming a
professor at the University of Arizona
(UArizona) in 2015, I spent
15 years as a practitioner in municipal
recreation. During that time,
I saw the untapped potential of
this public - yet hidden - green
50 Parks & Recreation | MARCH 2 0 2 3
Department and Tucson Homeless
Outreach team were brought into
the planning process. All stakeholders
consistently agreed on the
overarching priorities of enhancing
sight lines and activating the space
to improve safety perceptions and
drive down illicit behavior.
During an inspired meeting, the
students ultimately presented their
final projects to the neighborhood.
A couple of standout designs (pictured
left) were presented from students
Tess Wagner and Penelope
Cottrell-Crawford.
Coincidentally, the Tucson city
approved a local Propovoters
sition
|
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
407
bond
in November
2018, during the same semester
the IHNA was collaborating with
UArizona. This $225 million bond
package is dedicated to capital improvements
that include enhancing
city park amenities - such as playgrounds,
sports fields, pools, splash
pads, etc. - as well as connections
(e.g., pedestrian pathways, bicycle
pathways).
With
neighborhood
momentum
and a collective vision, plus
some new city funding options,
the Tucson Parks and Recreation
Department, under the leadership
of Deputy Director Greg Jackson,
helped complete an expedited, formal
master planning process for
Iron Horse Park in 2020. Through
the height
of the
coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic, community
Zoom meetings proved productive
and efficient thanks to the hard
work of consensus building and
data collection that had been done
back in 2018 with the UArizona
graduate students and neighborhood
association. Wheat Design
firm was hired to bring the vision
to life in 2021, with construction
finally starting in February 2023.
Wall removals, multiuse pathway
relocation, increased lighting, offleash
dog spaces and skateboarding
areas are some of the highlighted
upgrades coming to Iron Horse.
Resourceful and persistently engaged
residents, creative and ambitious
university students, committed
faculty, collaborative city
leaders and skilled landscape architects
all made the process of reimagining
this troubled public park
possible.
Matthew Ostermeyer, Ph.D., is
Associate Professor of Practice at
University of Arizona (ostermeyer@
arizona.edu).
IMAGE COURTESY OF TESS WAGNER
IMAGE COURTESY OF PENELOPE COTTRELL-CRAWFORD
March 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023 - Parks & Recreation
