Adams Park

We live within a block of Adams Park. The plan is a significant improvement and well needed. I would like to suggest a few things;; (1) The playground area should reflect the artificial grass hill, tunnel and other dynamic play spaces like Booth Park and, (2) The playground areas should have more trees within the play space, shade within the play space would be best (3) If the Basketball Court could move North a bit, then a picnic area, greenspace and treed space would be beneficial.
Thank you for listening.

It is great that the city is finally going to renovate the Adams Park. If this is a city park, I feel that a shot put, and other throwing areas are TOTALLY INCONGRUOUS with a children's (small or midsize) park. An errant heavy object would maim or kill a child! What was the architect thinking, in such a small park?!!! Is Roper paying for the maintenance that we as citizens are paying for a playing field for them? When they purchased the school did they purchase the park also? Very concerned neighbor!!

As a resident in this immediate area who would use this park, I like the playground, basketball and soccer field but would rather have a splash zone in lieu of the shot puck and long jump area. I don’t see residents using this. Track and field rec can take place at the public schools.

It is great to see this park getting improvements and allowing this neigborhood to have more space for kids to play, however there are a few observations:
1. How much is Roeper contributing towards it? the Q&A only state "Roeper School requested elements of the park remain such as long jump and discus and will contribute dollars at minimum toward improvement of these items." It would be nice to understand what this contribution is and how much of the overall cost of the improvements it covers, prior to any improvement happening.
2. Great to see a rain garden, can we make it bigger? City ordinances already give a formula for size vs. roof surface area runoff.
3. Play area surface - please use modern permeable soft recycled rubber materials not wood chips, they are much better for small children in many ways (Parent of small children) without adding to the impermeable surface.
4. The existing play structures are in pretty good condition, are they going to be relocated to another park to enhance that or just disposed of? It would be a waste to just get rid of them when another park could benefit from expanded play area equipment that will only cost the installation to have put in place. Plus maybe add more swings for kids to share.
5. Add more benches for seating around the play area for parents and kids to take a break,
6. Who is responsible for routine maintenance - grass cutting, tree pruning, litter cleanup etc.? Roper have got a commercial lawnmower by the back door under a tarp, are they agreeing to maintain the park and if so, what standards of maintenance are being agreed upon to ensure that we keep a high quality landscape for the residents who want to use it? If the city is fully responsible, what does Roeper contribute to this maintenance effort, as paying for part of the upgrades is only a 1 time expense, they are getting ongoing benefit and equitable financial support would be appropriate.

We are thrilled this long neglected park is getting some TLC finally! I agree with other posters regarding play equipment. It is an opportunity to provide a unique experience for all ages. The play equipment as shown looks a little bland.

I have lived near Roeper for many years, and I have rarely seen neighborhood children at the park when the track team is practicing the discus. It is after school and just in the Spring. Is curious, if Roeper contributing to the discus and long jump areas?

I am not sure I understand the soccer if field. Is it needed for practice? I dont think I have seen an actual game played on the current field.

Overall, thrilled with the park upgrades!

The image of the rendering on the website is so poor that it is impossible to see its location and identify the various elements to be included. It appears to be more of a sports field than a green space park and playground. I find the connection to the Roeper School to be murky and and an inappropriate collaboration and use of tax dollars paid for by all residents of Birmingham. It should be a "city" park, period.

The park is next to Roeper School. I have no problem with a bit of money being spent so they can practice for track meets, but I can't imagine the protocol for the school to reserve the whole park so they can throw the discuss and the shot. How could access be denied to the rest of the residents of the neighborhood?

Lots of people use this space to exercise their dogs. Can any dog agility pieces or a fountain be added?

Hello and thank you for the updates to Adams Park, as well as the opportunity to provide feedback. It is long overdue and will be much improved! I agree with the previously posted comments that Birmingham could benefit from a splash pad but with this small park it is not the right location. Appreciate the rain garden feature. Please consider making the playground a more prominent feature of the park with equipment for all ages and abilities, offering something different from other city parks. Many of the city parks are not broad enough for more than one age group and do not have enough seating for parents. Parks in cities like Royal Oak and Rochester have better facilities. Please consider not using wood chips and instead the recycled soft ground material many other newer parks use. Thank you for including the FAQs but have concerns over dedicating space for one non-public schools activities (long jump, discus and shot put) from a safety and funding perspective.

Removed by moderator.

Thank you for soliciting feedback from residents. I do not live near Adams Park, so please give resident comments from that area more weight than you do mine. There has been positive feedback about the Food Trucks that go to Poppleton Park. Is there a thought about Food Trucks/Coffee Carts at Adams Park? Is there an easy place for them to set-up? I agree with other commenters that more room is needed for gathering and seating. And maybe there is a way to plant more trees. It is hard to tell from the rendering how large the trees are on the west side of the playground, but when it is hot and sunny and there isn't any shade in the afternoon, kids (and their grown ups) can get crabby fast! For the garden area, it may be an educational opportunity to plant native perennials with signs/placards about how they benefit the landscape/environment. I don't know anything about Discus or Long Jump but these activities seem out of place here. It may not apply to this park since it is smaller, but in general, Birmingham parks lack bathrooms. If our parks are truly intended as "neighborhood destinations", then these things need to be considered anytime a park is renovated.

It's great that the city is looking to renovate this park! The plan right now looks more like an athletic field facility for the Roeper School, which, I believe, is not appropriate for the city to be investing in. This is a public park. Shotput and discus seem dangerous for small children in same small park. I would love to see expanded playing and gathering areas with benches for the area children and residents. Would also be nice to have some trees planted in the park for eventual shade.

Thanks for facilitating resident comments. Love the idea of neighborhood parks. It is a hallmark of Naperville, IL where I lived previously and one of the favorite attributes of their residents. Birmingham is a lovely area as well so please allow me to express a few thoughts on how we think this plan could be improved:
Surface area - most newer parks go for the option of using recycled soft materials; suggest this would be a significant upgrade to the plan
Long jump, shot put and discus inclusion - I love track and field but this small area and the mixture of ages that will utilize it make this a very bad item to include in this space
Seating - as new grandparents, we love taking the youngsters to the park; while there, we enjoy somewhere to sit and watch them play. Could more be done to address this aspect?
Overall, we are delighted with this idea. Some tweaking moves it from good to great. Please consider these comments and I would be happy to discuss this further if helpful.
Jeff Heichel

I am thrilled that this will be happening since the existing park needs a major upgrade. The design looks beautiful and seems like a good mix of amenities for both the school and residents. I'm very excited that my kids will finally have a nice park nearby. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem like there is play equipment for younger toddlers.

Out of curiosity, were you planning on this being walking distance for the triangle district residents? Or just an enhancement to the Roeper grounds. Maybe I am wrong in the placement of this park, but Im confused why this location was chosen, and if any thought or consideration to location based on proximity to families with young children came into play. A commenter in this thread said it perfectly... she's excited to take her GRANDchildren there. Has anyone done any research on the average age / demographic of the residents in that area? Because as another commenter pointed out, seems like Roeper will get more use out of this than the surrounding residents. I live on Webster street. So do literally 25+ kids under the age of 5. Do you really think this is a walking distance solution to the YOUNG families who live on Webster, holland, cole and lincoln and torrey? If not, I'm curious what your plan is to revitalize that area? If this park is meant for the residents in the triangle district, the location sorely misses the mark, unfortunately. A shame, since there are numerous lots / locations that need re-development that seem to have been skipped over. If I have to put my kids in the car to go to a park anyway, would I choose this one over the numerous other parks in the area? I dont know. Disappointing, honestly. This seems like an inside deal re-packaged and repositioned as "for the residents of the triangle district", when its not.

Nice plan for a small park. In my opinion: nix the beds on the Ridgedale side, expand the soccer field on both ends to achieve regulation length, or closer to regulation length. May, unfortunately, need a fence along Adams and Ridgedale to contain errant soccer balls. Add trees along Ridgedale side and between basketball court and soccer field. A large, eventual, shade tree in the middle of the play area would be nice. Not an appropriate location for a splash pad. Keep the landscape and feature plan simple and easy to maintain.

I’m very happy Birmingham is improving their parks. Unfortunately this plan looks like the Roeper school has had undue influence in its design. It looks like a majority of the park would be dedicated to the school’s athletic teams. And shot put and discus areas near play equipment used by young children doesn’t sound safe to me. Why not put in a pickle ball court instead, which would be more appealing to a greater cross section of Birmingham residents.

This is a public park, not an athletic field. Adding benches, trees and designated walkways would be more in keeping with what a park is supposed to be.

P.S. I love the looks of the planed park and look forward to taking my grandchildren there!

This comment is about presentation and not merits: when describing a project that can be used by an entire city, please give a better description of its location so that people outside of that specific neighborhood won't have to use Google maps to find it, e.g. "two blocks north of E. Maple."

I would love to see playground equipment that older kids can also utilize. My kids love Booth because of the sliding hill where they can play with their younger cousins. Small rock walls are also cool. Play features that let old and young play together get the whole family involved.