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Good park systems throughout the world help toshape the urban landscape, improve the qualityof life, increase property values, and make citiesa better place to live, work, and play. Many placeswe consider great places to visit or live are sobecause of their appearance and their ameni-ties. Parks not only enhance the appearance of ourcities by offering green oases or protecting the naturalbeauty of a place, but also offer many recreationaland cultural amenities for residents and visitors.

Parks play an important role in shaping our ur-ban lands. For example, Boston’s parks systemfeatures an extensive series of connected parksand green spaces known as the Emerald Neck-lace. This system was planned over a hundredyears ago, and has influenced how the city hasgrown and aged. Chattanooga’s park systemhas made an important contribution to that city’srecent urban revitalization efforts. Chattanoogais now experiencing extensive reinvestment in itsurban core. Minneapolis’s quality of life is largelyderived from its excellent parks system. Each ofthese cities’ parks systems has made differentcontributions to their landscape and form.

Little Rock has the potential to utilize its systemof parks in a similar manner. Situated in a natu-ral setting at the convergence of four differentphysiographic regions of the state, Little Rock

enjoys a variety of natural landscapes, includingrolling hills with wooded topography, a river val-ley carved by a scenic waterway, and lowlands asthe Gulf coastal plains and the Mississippi Deltalands meet the Ouachita mountains. The city it-self is still relatively contained within a manage-able land area, although growth over the lasttwo decades continue to push the city westward.Like many other cities, several of Little Rock’solder neighborhoods are in need of revitaliza-tion and reinvestment. The population of LittleRock is stable, with relatively little growth withinexisting city boundaries. New population growthis largely credited to the continued expansion ofthe city’s boundaries west.

Existing Park System

The existing park system is comprised of nearly5800 acres of parks dotted around the city.Some key parcels, such as the River Market,Riverfront Park, Allsopp Park, Boyle Park, andRebsamen Golf Course are embraced by citizensas successful examples of parks and facilities.While the city’s parks are a valuable resource,some parks have suffered from years of inad-equate attention. The message from communityleaders and residents alike is one of reinvestingand committing to the maintenance of existingpark parcels. In addition, both recognize thatthe city holds parcels that are ecologically signifi-cant but are underutilized for educational andrecreational purposes.

Parks offer a place to relax.

L i t t l e Rock ’ s10 La rges t Pa r k Pa r ce l s

1. Fourche Bottoms * 1700 acres2. Regional Park 2000* 617 acres3. Rebsamen Golf 380 acres4. River Mountain * 378 acres5. Gillam Park 350 acres6. Two Rivers 340 acres7. Jack Stephens Youth Golf 250 acres8. Boyle Park 243 acres9. Hindman Golf 190 acres10. Murray 166 acres

* undeveloped park parcel

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The city has an even distribution of both neigh-borhood and community parks within its olderneighborhoods, but new growth in west Little Rockhas occurred in large part without park develop-ment coinciding. Many aging parks in these olderareas are in need of updating and repair. Inaddition, some older facilities are undersized,outdated, and do not provide adequate recre-ational services for nearby residents. The recentpurchase of 600+ acres west of the current cityboundaries will accommodate some of the rec-reational needs of the residents of west LittleRockand provide a large open space tract in aquickly growing area of the city.

Existing parks lack a sense of citywide cohesionand connectivity, however. Citywide connectivityof recreational opportunities can enhance LittleRock as a unique place to live and visit. Drainagesystems such as Fourche Creek, the Arkansas River,and smaller streams, provide excellent opportu-nities for connecting a number of parks. Theconnection of parks along the Arkansas River isalready under way, and much of the land withinthe Fourche Creek flood plain is already in publicownership. By linking the city’s existing recre-ational and cultural resources and providing infilland new parks where appropriate, the park sys-tem can play a major role in the quality of life ofLittle Rock.

Vision and Goals

Emerging from the visioning process was thedesire to create a “city in a park”. If realized,this vision can create Little Rock’s identity to helpit stand out among other communities through-out the nation. With the extensive natural re-sources present in the area, Little Rock can achievethis vision relatively easily with careful consider-ations to future growth and development. Byrejuvenating older areas of the city with reinvest-ment and beautification, the natural beauty ofthe surrounding area can be brought back intothe core of the city itself. Creating a city in apark, however, does not include the provision ofland alone. Therefore, three major goals for cre-ating a “city in a park” were established:

§ CREATE A CITYWIDE SYSTEM OF PARKS, OPENSPACES AND NATURAL AREAS that providesrecreational, educational, ecological, and aes-thetic benefits to enhance the livability of LittleRock.

§ PROVIDE FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS TOSERVE ALL USER GROUPS, COMMUNITIES ANDAGE GROUPS.

§ ADVOCATE, BUILD AND MAINTAIN A CITY IN APARK THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS, CREATIVEFINANCING AND EDUCATION.

Parks offer a place for organizedplay and active recreation...

...as well as passive recreation

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Creating a City in a Park: TheDesign

The creation of a citywide system of parks andfacilities which serve all user groups must be ad-dressed at a number of levels. Providing a frame-work for the development of a cohesive systemwhile providing for needs in each distinct area oftown can be accomplished with the following con-cepts.

The three-tra i l loop system sets the frame-work for a cohesive citywide park system. Incombination with the complementary internal trailsystem and urban forestry program, this systemlinks parks and facilities to create the “city in apark” atmosphere. Three major trail systemshave been identified. The “Take it to the Edge”system includes an urban trail connection fromeast Little Rock and the William Jefferson ClintonPresidential Park along the Arkansas River throughRiverfront Park, the River Market, Rebsamen Park,Murray Park, and Two Rivers Park and connect-ing to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. The “Take itto the Earth” system includes earthen trails andboardwalks through the Fourche Creek floodplain,one of the largest urban wetlands in the country.This system would connect to the Edge system ineast Little Rock and connect to Gillam Park,Fourche Creek Park, Jack Stephens Youth GolfAcademy, Hindman Park, and Otter Creek Park.The Earth trail would then connect to the thirdleg of the three-loop system, the “Take it to the

Extreme” system. This system traverses thehilly terrain west of Little Rock’s current citylimits and connects to the recently acquired617-acre Regional Park 2000 and back to theEdge system near Pinnacle Mountain StatePark.

The eight-b lock strategy provides park ser-vices at the neighborhood level within the overallframework. By this concept, every resident willbe within eight blocks of some type of publicgreen space or public or private park. Park orgreen space areas should be provided to thoseresidential areas which are not currently servedwithin a eight-block radius.

The special faci l i t ies concept locates destina-tion facilities along the three-trail loop systemand integrates their services into the citywide plan.Such facilities include interpretive centers and trailsat Two Rivers Park and Fourche Creek, includinga larger educational center that addresses thewetlands ecology of Fourche Creek and uniquegeologic formations of Gillam Park. In addition,the integration of a river-related destination centeris proposed, which includes the William JeffersonClinton Presidential Park, Riverfront Park,Riverfest Amphitheatre, the River Market, and aproposed water-related center in east LittleRock. The collection would be linked by the “Takeit to the Edge” system. An outdoor recreationcenter has been proposed along the “Take itto the Extreme” trail west of Little Rock’s city

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limits. A sports complex component is pro-posed at the Regional Park 2000 to alleviatedemands for additional sports fields. Finally,an equestrian center is proposed along the“Take it to the Extreme” system.

Park Land and Facility Standards

Most park departments evaluate their park sys-tems based on level of service (LOS) standards.Generally, comparisons are made between na-tional LOS standards and those levels of serviceprovided by peer communities. These standardsact as a guide by reflecting quantities of parkland and facilities needed to serve current andprojected populations. Rather than structuringLittle Rock’s plan around a group of standards,the plan is reflective of a broad vision of whatthe system should be and concepts of how toget there. Levels of service were then comparedto determine what specific park and facility typeswere needed within the broader system to servethe city’s population adequately. A detailed ac-count of existing facilities and programs, stan-dards, and recommendations can be found inChapter Five.

The Four Point Strategy

The four-point strategy was defined to articulatethe goals of the plan and guide specific actionsnecessary to create a “city in a park” as theyrelate to the overall concepts. The strategiesare as follows:

1. CREATE AN INTERCONNECTED MULTI-FUNC-TIONAL OPEN SPACE SYSTEM: Create an inter-connected public open space system comprisedof parks, greenways, riparian areas and flood-plains, streets, sidewalks, and trails to link publicand private facilities, provide an ecologically-re-sponsible green infrastructure, and preserve the“City in a Park” character,

2. CONSTRUCT SIGNATURE PARKS ANDFACILITIES: Construct regional “banner” parksand facilities which provide new and expandedrecreational opportunities to the citizens of Cen-tral Arkansas and add to the amenity package ofliving in Little Rock,

3. PROVIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE: Pro-vide a park or green space within an eight-blockradius of each resident of Little Rock which ac-commodate recreational needs at the neighbor-hood level, and

4. CREATE A LIFETIME CUSTOMER: Offer adiversity of recreational programs that serve eachresident’s interests from childhood to maturity.

L i t t l e Rock ’ sMas te r P l an S tandards

Park LandRegional Parks 10 acres per 1000 peopleCommunity Parks 5 acres per 1000 peopleNeighborhood Parks 2 acres per 1000 peopleMini Parks 0 acres per 1000 people

FacilitiesCommunity Centers 1 per 50,000 peopleFitness Centers 1 per 60,000-87,500

peopleSwimming Pools 1 per 40,000-50,000

peopleBaseball & Softball Fields 1 per 5,000 peopleSoccer Fields 1 per 5,000-7,000 peopleFootball Fields Provide as necessaryTennis Courts 1 per 4,000 peopleBasketball Courts 1 per 5,000 peoplePlaygrounds 1 in each active-use parkCommunity Gardens Provide as necessaryGolf Courses 1 per 30,000 people

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Recommendations

An extensive list of policies and actions were de-veloped to put in place a park system of thecaliber and quality desired by Little Rock resi-dents. The following are examples from the policyframework, located in Chapter Six:

§ Upgrade five existing parks per year until allLRPR park properties are improved

§ Create a citywide trail system and developan urban forestry program through thethree-trail loop framework

§ Connect parks through linkages to thecitywide trail system loop

§ Provide green space within eight blocks ofevery resident through the implementationof the citywide trail system and/or new orexpanded parks

§ Consolidate and expand specific facilities toprovide more effective services

§ Provide recreational facilities which meet theneeds of Little Rock residents

§ Construct specialized facilities to reinforce thepackage of signature parks and facilities whichare integrated within the three-trail loopframework

§ Restructure programs to create lifetime cus-tomers by offering programs which involvecitizens from early childhood through seniorservices

§ Upgrade maintenance standards to create a“Class A” park system

§ Develop a preventative maintenance sched-ule

§ Develop a resource management plan forpark properties

§ Adopt an ordinance requiring all residentialdevelopment projects to provide funds and/or land for procurement and developmentof public park property

§ Reorganize LRPR in a way that positions theorganization to effectively implement themaster plan and increase citizen involve-ment in directing the plan

§ Employ creative funding measures§ Develop revenue centers§ Establish and maintain a network of part-

nerships§ Advocate the implementation of a “City in a

Park”

Cost and Phasing

An aggressive $6 million annual budget for addi-tional land, capital improvements, and operationsand maintenance is proposed to accompany theorganization’s $10.5 million annual operatingbudget which is currently in place. This increasein annual budget over 20 years allows the com-plete implementation of the master plan.

Improvements and recommendations of themaster plan are phased over 20 years, with eachphase occupying a 3 to 5 year period. Eachphase consists of existing park and facility up-

Creating lifetime customers is an essential partof a successful parks system

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grades, land acquisition, general improvements,new facilities, and implementation steps towardthe completion of three trail systems that com-prise framework for the city’s overall park sys-tem.

Funding opportunities are available from a num-ber of sources, including grants and funds suchas the Land and Water Conservation Fund, TEA-21 funds, Community Development Block Grants,other federal and state grants. Parks founda-tions, general foundations, revenue bonds, andgeneral obligation bonds are additional fundingsources. Opportunities also include fees, suchas real estate transfer fees, developer impactfees, reservation and permit fees, and user fees.Taxes such as local option tax revenues and ho-tel/motel taxes, as well as revenue from itemssuch as naming rights, advertisement sales, mer-chandise sales, and concession and catering man-agement sales are also funding opportunities.Land trusts, sponsorships, partnerships, and cre-ation of authority for sports tournaments arealso funding methods that can be utilized.