1. Martha Walker Park Improvements
Public Meeting #1 Comments
DATE: MAY 30, 2013
LOCATION: CROSS TIMBERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ARLINGTON, TX
PUBLIC MEETING NOTES
QUESTION/COMMENT RESPONSE
Who requested that this park be developed? Did this
come from an individual or a group?
The department regularly analyzes our park service areas to ensure that we are providing parks and
recreation services equitably to all residents. While progress has been made in southwest Arlington,
we still have a very large area that we are not meeting the needs of residents according to our
adopted standards. Martha Walker Park provides open space in one of our service gap areas, but no
recreational amenities to serve residents. Without funding to acquire additional park land, this site
will allow the City provide passive recreational opportunities in an effort to meet citizen needs. The
park’s namesake, Martha Walker, also requested that we begin plans for developing the park.
What happens if we don’t want to do any additional park
development to this property? I heard there’s been talk
of selling the park?
This property was purchased in 1986 to secure park land within the under-served southwest
Arlington area. The property is classified as a neighborhood park, meaning it is intended to serve
residents within a ½ mile radius service area. If we do not develop this park, we would need to sell
the property and use those funds to purchase other park property in the service area. Our
preference is to develop the existing park.
The rail fence should be extended the full length of the
park to prevent any vehicle access into the park.
We will consider this in our project scope.
Will there be any area or security lighting for the park? Parking lots are required to be lit by City ordinance. We can provide area lighting at the playground if
desired. We will not light the trail—this gives people a false sense of security and encourages them
to use the trail at night.
People come into the park at night already. By adding
improvements, more people will be in the park after
hours.
Like all neighborhood parks, the park is open from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm. Anyone using the park
outside of these hours should be reported to the Police.
Is an automated gate to keep cars from going into the
parking lot at night an option?
It’s a very expensive option, but one we can consider in our project scope. An automated gate only
prevents people from entering the park after hours; it does not force cars that entered before the
closing time to leave.
Lack of sidewalks for access from Harris Road means that
children trying to get to the park will have to walk in the
road, but adding sidewalks could increase pedestrian
traffic into the neighborhood which is undesirable.
We will discuss the issue with the Public Works and Transportation Department, but currently, there
are no plans to add sidewalks along Sharon Lee Drive or the immediate Harris Road area. Ideally, we
would like to have safe and easy access for pedestrians, but this situation occurs at many park
locations in our system.

2. Martha Walker Park Improvements
Public Meeting #1 Comments
DATE: MAY 30, 2013
LOCATION: CROSS TIMBERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ARLINGTON, TX
There’s no access to the park from Turner Way. Unfortunately, providing passive amenities in Martha Walker Park does not solve all of the service
area needs in southwest Arlington. We recognize the need for additional parks in and around Turner
Way, but direct access to this site does not seem feasible at this point. The lack of a street network
and numerous private properties between the park and Turner Way make it difficult for residents to
access the site without driving off of Harris Road.
Developing the park could lead to increased traffic, cars
parking in the lot at night, or people using the ditches in
front of homes as overflow parking.
These are typical concerns any time we develop parks in residential neighborhoods. Most of the
time, once the park is developed, residents find that the benefit of the nearby park outweighs any
minor problems, if there are any at all. We can post signage to make parking along the road illegal.
However, this will mean that no one can park there—not even residents or their guests.
We want to keep the park natural! Can we include things
like a monarch butterfly way station, wildflowers, and
opportunities for wildlife/bird watching?
These are great ideas, and we will consider them in the scope of our project.
Can there be equestrian trails? Can there be a
combination of concrete and natural trails? Perhaps the
upper loop of trail can be natural trail, and the lower
loop can be concrete.
We can include a combination of concrete and natural surface trails. The suggestion of making the
upper loop natural and the lower loop concrete is a good one, and we will consider this in the scope
of our project. We will also consider equestrian trail areas, but the small-sized, neighborhood parks
are not the best candidates for this type of activity. Larger pathways and parking areas would need
to be evaluated to accommodate these activities.
We don’t want a lot of people in our neighborhood. How
can we discourage large, formal gatherings? We do not
want a pavilion.
Based on the discussion at the public meeting, the pavilion will be removed from the conceptual
plan. The park will be designed to encourage passive activity, such as using the trails and observing
wildlife. Large groups are more likely to use one of the nearby community parks (i.e., SJ Stovall and FJ
Red Kane) that offer different and larger amenities.
I’m excited about having a playground that’s within
walking distance for my family. Is it possible to have the
poured-in-place rubber surfacing like I’ve seen at other
parks?
Poured-in-place surfacing is incredibly expensive and therefore isn’t cost effective for a park like
Martha Walker. We would much rather use available funds to provide more and better play
equipment. The engineered wood fiber we use in most of our parks is cost effective, easy for staff to
maintain, and meets all required safety regulations.
I think it’s important to include dog waste stations for
people to clean up after their pets.
We can definitely include dog waste stations as a park amenity. Thank you for the suggestion!

3. Martha Walker Park Improvements
Public Meeting #1 Comments
DATE: MAY 30, 2013
LOCATION: CROSS TIMBERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ARLINGTON, TX
COMMENT CARDS
COMMENT FOLLOW-UP?
Limited parking spaces, lighting for parking, clean up wooded area, no basketball or tennis courts, children’s playground, better road
maintenance for increased park traffic
No
Thanks for your efforts! You are encouraged to continue! We are encouraged! -
Would really love the trails and loops—great for walking, jogging, and dog walking. Also support the playground and picnic tables. -
Keep the park as natural and beautiful as possible. Butterfly area would be great. Wildflowers. Small parking area. Trails. No pavilion or exercise
equipment (ugly!!!). Limited playground equipment.
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As little development as possible! Concerns: traffic, parking, security, turn around in private drives. Use area for nature/wildlife. No baseball
fields, no playgrounds, no soccer fields.
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The comments above are taken directly from comment cards turned in by meeting attendees. Every effort has been made to correctly interpret illegible
handwriting. Emphases are those of the comment writer.
E-MAILED AND TELEPHONED COMMENTS:
COMMENT FOLLOW-UP?
Disabled citizen that lives near the park and received the mailer—curious about what we’re going to do in the park. Says that walking trails
would be great since there isn’t much other place to walk in the neighborhood (rural streets). Mentioned that UTA students used to come to the
park and stargaze. Is in support of playgrounds, practice fields, and a small parking lot.
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“I got a postcard about the meeting on 5/30 about the Martha Walker Park. My biggest interest is will it be able to tie to other parks via a
walkway? I enjoy walking and in my very small neighborhood it is kind of hazardous since there are no sidewalks. I don’t like to walk on Turner
Way or Calendar. We usually load up the dogs and go to the park on Eden road by the Golf Course. That park has a super walkway. Again
would be great if more parks were attached to each other. But whatever is done will be appreciated. Thanks.”
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The comments above are the writer’s understanding of the various discussions held and conclusions reached.
RECORDED BY: Briana Morrison, City of Arlington