Charting a new path: Ogle Foundation to fund major update to plan for Ohio River Greenway, by Matt Koesters (Tonawanda News)
... which have to do with Dan Jones, CEO of 21st Century Parks and his next brief.
Soon, Jones will be making his mark in Southern Indiana as he helps lead an update of the masterplan for the Ohio River Greenway, one that leaders hope will give the Greenway Olmstead-esque staying power.
Jones begins by describing parks of the future.
“As a Kentuckian looking across the river, (the Greenway is) a really cool project,” Jones said. “I love parks of all kinds, and the 21st-century parks are going to take all kinds of shapes and forms. They’re not all the traditional sports park or the big pastoral park.”
Looking across the river, did he see New Albany's newly emerging municipal parks system and its $0.00-to-$2,000,000-in-two-years parks budget, which includes a sports park and an aquatics center? First, read as Greenway Commission Chairman Philip Hendershot commits heresy, first by using an adjective (underlined), then by looking abroad for models.
“Those folks are developing a linear parks system in Jefferson County that’s looking to be a national, if not an international model. Having their expertise is really exciting.”
I hope Hendershot isn't planning to run for office in New Albany as a Democrat. This sort of chatter could get him banished to Birdseye, where nothing's ever linear. Jones sees the possibilities.
“The landscape over there is incredible,” Jones said. “You’ve got these two beautiful downtowns in Jeffersonville and New Albany. You’ve got the Clarksville waterfront in between, with the Falls of the Ohio and the [George Rogers] Clark Cabin. The Indiana [Department of Natural Resources] has about a 100-acre forest, and then of course you’ve got the connection to Louisville on the Big Four Bridge.
But here's the amazing part. Dude wants to make connections between pieces. What is he, a book reader?
“Because it’s so developed on that side of the river, to be able to route and connect the pieces as they have done is quite the challenge,” Jones said. “Not only is there this great opportunity to take that to the next level, there should also be recognition of the really great work that the commission has done to date, because there was a big challenge and they did a great job.”
One of the challenges will be meshing other plans for the area — such as Jeffersonville’s plans for bicycle paths throughout the city and Clarksville’s West Riverfront masterplan with the Greenway plan — Hendershot said.
Non-linear parks, connectivity and the 21st-century?
Next thing you know, Jones will be advocating the replacement of rotary dial phones high atop Hauss Square. And then what?
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