Ramping Up Promenade Hill

Yesterday, Gossips mused about curating our city parks. Today, another situation that makes the argument for curating is reported by John Mason in the Register-Star: "Promenade Hill sized up for on-ramp." According to Mason, the Common Council approved a temporary ramp at Promenade Hill on July 15, but that's not exactly true. The resolution passed on July 15 simply stated that "the Common Council, the Mayor, and the Superintendent of Public Works will take all steps reasonable and necessary to develop a proposal for a handicapped accessible ramp for Promenade Hill Park."

Rick Scalera, when he was still mayor, was the first to advocate for a ramp to allow people in wheelchairs and scooters and mothers with strollers to access Promenade Hill. In 2011, Hudson tried to get a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to build a ramp at Promenade Hill, but that effort was unsuccessful. The proposed design for the ramp (seen in the rendering below), which accompanied the grant application, was created by Morris Associates and had a price tag of $279,111.90.

This past summer, the issue of the ramp was taken up with zeal and determination by Second Ward alderman Tiffany Garriga. At her insistence, DPW superintendent Rob Perry came up with an alternative plan for a ramp that would only cost $19,813.63.

This ramp would be constructed of wood and look a little like a deck, but apparently, although it would cost $20,000, it was meant to be temporary. When the Common Council was made aware of the plan, Council president Don Moore pointed out that a grant application was being developed to restore Promenade Hill and improve the approach to the park--a project that would include provision for handicapped access.

But on June 9, at a special meeting of the Common Council, Bill Roehr, of TGW Consultants, reported that the grant application for Promenade Hill had been postponed to give more time for historic landscape study and planning. He explained that there was "a conflict between the goal of access and historic landscape treatment" and finding a way to introduce a ramp without compromising the historic integrity of the park was not a simple thing.

Not to be deterred by concern for the integrity of the park's historic design, Garriga pushed for a temporary ramp, suggesting that one might be rented, and has taken on the task of contacting suppliers and soliciting proposals and cost estimates. The cost estimates from Amramp, the company that visited yesterday, are expected tomorrow.

Photo found at Amramp.com

COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK