The City and Borough of Juneau Parks and Recreation Department is looking for residents to drop in some ideas about what they’d like to see that would improve or enhance the Pipeline Skate Park and the parcel of land it is on in the coming years.
Earlier this week the department released a survey to gauge what residents would like to see changed or upgraded at the city’s Jackie Renninger Park.
“It’s really a blank slate at this point — we really want to hear from folks,” said George Schaaf, the city’s parks and recreation director.
Schaaf said that for years there has been a lot of progress in other areas of Juneau to better its parks and playgrounds, but Jackie Renninger Park hasn’t seen much change or been upgraded as much as other parks in areas such as Lemon Creek. The park has basic amenities like a bathroom, lighting and parking, but Schaaf said he thinks there’s a lot of potential for growth on the parcel.
“When we are looking at the neighborhoods that we serve here, the area around the Jackie Renninger Park and the pipeline is actually really under-served,” he said. “The parcel is probably our largest undeveloped or underdeveloped recreation park in Juneau — so it’s got a lot of potential to meet a lot of the needs of the neighborhood and it’s on a transit line so there’s a bus stop right there at the park, which is great.”
Schaaf said the first step of possible improvements to the park is the survey, which will help the department understand what is most desired by neighboring residents of the park. He said ideas could range from increasing paved trails on the land to adding a playground to additional skating equipment.
The department has a small budget of about $75,000 to conduct the survey, and to sketch up preliminary planning and design. However, Schaaf said in order for any construction of new improvements to move forward the department will need to seek funding.
Schaaf said that point in the project is a few years out, and the funding will likely come in the form of pursuing grants or putting the idea forth to voters in the coming years as a ballot initiative.
In the 2022 municipal election, voters handily approved a parks improvement project for a $6.6 million bond package including a variety of different parks and trail improvement projects across Juneau. One of the major improvements was at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park, where the city will replace its eight-lane track and install artificial turf at the ballfield.
The survey can be found on the city’s website and is open through Sept. 29.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
