First & Foremost, Many Thanks, & Much Appreciation are extended to Yunpei 'Rainia' Zhang, Cris McPhail, and Steve Ayers for their tireless dedication and diligence on behalf of designing development for The Parsons Preserve. We are greatly impressed and pleased with the effort so far. Although we have numerous comments, please realize that none of our comments are criticisms. We are 1001% supportive of the design process in whatever form and direction it may take. We are very happy to have the privilege of making these comments. However, in all cases, it is the consensus of the design team that takes precedence. THANK YOU for your kind consideration & gracious hospitality!
I was very happy to see this mock-up on a entry sign.
It's just about as perfectly rustic an entry sign as I can possibly imagine.
I love this seating design idea. It's perfect for all seating needs of The Preserve.
It will withstand any conceivable flood event and can quickly be returned to service.
This could make a perfect boundary barrier for the parking area. Not only is it impenetrable by "bubba trucks," it is the perfect "debris catcher." On 15FEB19, we observed debris being carried into the probable location of the preserve parking area. Removal of both the fine and large debris from the parking area after each flood event would present a significant maintenance expense. Usage of this type of a barrier would prevent much of the debris from reaching the parking area.
I really love this idea for visual monitoring of the water level of The Verde River in Parson Preserve! I would ope that something like this could be readily visible from I-17. A single stone monolith would not constitute an obstruction of river flow but certainly would fun to watch when the water rose upon thee stone.
This is the type of structure that would work best in The Preserve. Coincidentally, it is also the most common ancestral communal structure of the Yavapai-Apache Nation. One such structure is permanently in place in front of the casino. These structures are easy to erect and can be made into seasonal shade structure with the addition of cottonwood and willow branch trimmings. If they are knocked over by a flood,they can be put back in place with a minimum of time, effort and expense.
I love trails and the more trails the merrier but this might be too high a density of trails in comparison to the overall area of The Preserve. It appears that some of the trails have been overlaid onto the "social trails" made by rampant ATV usage. I would suggest reducing trail density, especially as each trail segment is visible from other trail segments. At a minimum I would scope several trail alignment and density options before deciding on a final courses of action.
This is the type of debris accumulation that can happen on the Verde River. Prior to 15FEB19, there was no debris at this location in Rezzonico Park. Now there is enough of it to practically become permanent there. One must expect similar debris accumulations in Parsons Preserve in the years and decades ahead.
Here is the 15FEB19 Friday afternoon second high water peak encroaching into the most likely site for a parking area for Parsons Preserve.
I am happy to see the various draft layouts of Preserve usage areas included in the graphic above and those below.
In future renditions of the trail layout, please use a color scheme that provides more visual contrast. The purple lines are hard for my old tired eyes to see. Thank You. (See trail comments above.)
It is an excellent planning method to focus on "Primary Landscape Spots." I think it would be prudent to flag then on the ground and have various individual go onsite to inspect, review and compare them before finalizing them into the design criteria.
The emergency evac graphic below begs the question as to whether there will be a semi-hardened ingress/egress pathway for both emergency vehicles and maintenance needs. It might be a good idea to create such a semi-hardened path and also to consult with CCF&MD as to whether the design meets their needs.
Comments resume once again under graphics.
It has been my personal experience that ADA trails are very lightly used. This amount of ADA trails is probably in excess of what would ever be utilized. It's also been my personal experience that every community has someone who is a sort of self-appointed commentator on the suitability of ADA facilities. I would suggest attempting to determine who plays that role in Camp Verde and ask their opinion about ADA facilities for the Preserve.
These types of barriers are not sufficient to withstand the assaults of vandals and "bubba trucks."
As noted above, this type of barrier is PERFECT to thwart vandals and "bubba truck." LOVE IT!
As far as a local crop area, The Verde Ancestral Gardens is so close to Parsons Preserve, I would defer to them for this. Their volunteers are stretched very thin and it is unlikely such a garden could be maintained without considerable volunteer effort. Instead, I suggest at least one of the interpretive panels direct visitors to the existing ancestral garden.
Traditional playground equipment probably will not be able to withstand Verde River flooding.
This is a photo of Windmill Park playground equipment in Lake Montezuma taken 15FEB19. The playground was hammered by the overnight flooding event and this isn't even what Wet Beaver Creek is capable of doing. The Verde River brings a much larger scale of potential destruction to the table. I suggest all play infrastructure be made of rocks and tree stump segments. If the stump segments are washed away, there probably will be others deposited at or near the same locations when the flood recedes.
I didn't have time to clip some of the crafting elements but I like the idea of place to stack rocks. Many land managers dislike stacked rocks but, for whatever reason, humans appear to love stacking rocks. Might as well go with the flow, so to speak, and give them a place to stack rocks. The next flood will knock them all over anyway, so there's no loss. Who knows? A rock stacking area might become one of The Preserve's most popular aspects and could well be a Star of Instagram!
Please refer to prior comments about trail density.
I suggest more "observation areas" on the riverbank.
ANy of the above types of infrastructure will probably meet the fate of this picnic table as photographed 15FEB19 at Clarkdale's Lower TAPCO river access point.
The key to amenities at Parsons Preserve is sustainability. If it's flood resistant, low maintenance and low initial investment, chances are pretty good that it will survive in the long term.
I sincerely hope there are many, many of these placed in Parsons Preserve! LOVE Them!
Due to the inherent difficulty of maintenace access, it is highly likely Parsons Preserve will be a "Leave No Trace," "Park It In-Pack It Out" kind of a place.
The only place for toilets will be at the parking area and they can easily be hidden by a structure similar to what is used at Rezzonico Park. Also, they will have to be positioned so that the vendor can remove them quickly and easily should a flood warning be issued.
LOVE THESE!
The above are great ideas and I sure hope they are incorporated.
Awesome!
See above comments.
Parsons Preserve definitely 1001% needs a wedding area.
Below are more reference photos of Windmill Park and also the water encroaching on the Preserve Parking location on 15FEB19.
The classic fate of traditional recreational apparatus!
