Urban park gets a new meaning

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005 | 8:51 a.m.

Faced with a downtown that does not easily lend itself to having a large central green space, Las Vegas officials instead are developing plans for a park consisting of pieces that would be scattered throughout the city's core.

The vision includes plans for a small dog park, permanent chess boards on table tops and painters' easels on various street corners and closed-off roads, connected by widened sidewalks throughout the heart of downtown.

The $5-million Urban Pathways plan, the program under which some downtown sidewalks would be widened, and a $1.35 million sculpture park called Boulder Plaza Park are expected to be among the new park's first pieces.

The sidewalk widening -- most sidewalks, now 5 feet wide, would become 10 feet wide under the plan -- probably would be completed in phases, officials said.

But the sculpture park is expected to be completed in a single phase, possibly next year, with the city closing off part of Boulder Avenue between Main Street and Casino Center Boulevard to create a space for sculptures that people would be able to walk among.

The City Council has approved the concept through its long-range budgets, but would still have to formally OK individual projects and spending.

When finished -- and it is unclear how long that could take -- the downtown's new jigsaw-like park could have pieces extending from as far north as Washington Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard North to Sahara Avenue and the boulevard to the south. Parts of the park also could reach from the city-owned 61 acres on the west side of the railroad tracks to as far east as Maryland Parkway, said city Planning and Development Director Margo Wheeler.

"It will be a lot of things that don't take up a lot of space or need a lot of security or maintenance," Wheeler said. "Like chess and checker tables, permanent easels, a little area for a dog run. A whole bunch of different things for different audiences. It's a different way of doing a downtown park."

Wheeler said the park is intended to attract tourists and residents alike.

"Ideally," she said, "you would be able to see from one activity to the next."

The project is expected to take years, and some funds for the $5 million pathways plan are included in the city's long-range spending plan through 2010.

Wheeler said that while the city has some land it could use for the different activities, she hopes developers set aside land for the project.

Mayor Oscar Goodman hailed the proposed de-centralized park as "forward thinking, cutting-edge thinking" that will enhance the quality of life in downtown.

The de-centralized park would be a first of its kind, Wheeler said, adding that the idea stemmed from the belief that in Las Vegas, "it isn't realistic to set aside one block and put turf on it."

Not only would that notion be counter to recent trends in water conservation, but building a conventional park probably would require buying and demolishing a block.

Another advantage of a de-centralized park, Wheeler said, is that all of downtown could be close to parts of it.

Dan Kulin can be reached at 259-8826 or at dan@lasvegassun.com.