Please give us your opinions on Flood Park renovations

Part One — Important Issues

In this space, you can write a note to the Design Team, on any topic, in your own words. Farther down, you’ll be invited to comment in detail on specific issues that have arisen during the design process. But if your concern is not listed, or you’ve got something you want to say right up front, here’s your opportunity.
Today, the Bay Road side of the park consists of a natural woodland, with a canopy of mature trees over grassy areas. Some people are advocating cutting down a central area of the woodland and replacing it with a large soccer field. Others are advocating keeping the woodland intact and placing the soccer fields on the other side of the park, next to the baseball field, or near the entrance, alongside the Oak shelter area. What choice would you make? What are your thoughts and feelings about keeping the woodland intact?
Some people feel that the community is demanding the full set of amenities shown in the 2020 Landscape Plan and is willing to sacrifice trees to make room for them. Other feel that the 2020 Plan calls for more features and amenities than the park can support without destroying its natural character. Of particular concern is the removal of many woodland trees in order to make room for sports fields, the new playgrounds, and paved amenities, such as the promenade and the gathering plazas. What are your thoughts and feelings?
In the past, on peak days, the parking lot of Flood Park has sometimes filled to capacity. In the 2020 Landscape Plan, multiple new sports fields and additional facilities are planned. Some community members are concerned that the park will have to restrict the use of the fields, or popular features such as picnic areas, on peak days such as holidays, in order to avoid pushing parked cars and traffic into the adjacent neighborhoods, and violating the terms of its environmental quality agreements. Other people dismiss these concerns and want the new features built regardless of parking difficulties. What are your thoughts and opinions?