A zebra sanctuary in Park Hill? A wave pool? Denver residents weigh in with ideas for massive new city park

Many Denverites’ ideas for what should go in the city’s newest park are on the practical and predictable side: Hiking trails. A pond. A dog park. Maybe even a botanic garden.

Then, there are the wild cards.

A zebra sanctuary, a wave pool, a skijoring training area.

These suggestions, both the realistic and the ones that seem pulled straight from a 10-year-old’s imagination, are just some of the options that Denver Parks and Recreation likely will weigh as officials decide what will be built at the former Park Hill Golf Course property once it becomes a public park.

In an attempt to get a feel for what Denverites want to see in the new park, The Denver Post conducted an informal online survey this week. As of midday Friday, it had garnered 318 responses.

The 155-acre former golf course in northeast Denver has been the subject of debate and consternation for decades. After several citywide votes over whether the land should remain open space, be developed into housing and shops, or a mix of both, the decision has been announced by Mayor Mike Johnston: the full property will become a park.

When it opens this summer, the not-yet-named park will be the city’s fourth largest behind only City Park, Sloan’s Lake and Washington Park.

But the fight over the land isn’t totally over.

In the next round, city officials will weigh which amenities they should pursue for the future park. While the area will open initially as open space, Parks and Recreation plans to solicit feedback, a process that will inform how officials develop the park further.

The city has suggested it may add some lower-cost developments to the park, like picnic tables or a disc golf course, as it builds a long-term plan.

Officials will rake through input from residents near and far, consider the city’s bank account, design a park, and — almost certainly — leave some, or many, residents frustrated when their ideas lose out.

Here’s some of what The Post learned in its survey: Of 15 potential amenities listed in the survey as options, seven received more than 100 votes from the respondents (who could choose more than one).

They were, in descending order: Hiking trails, a playground, picnic tables, a pond or lake, a botanic garden, a dog park, and a performance space or stage.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said hiking trails were an amenity they wished to see in the park.

Those who answered also had an opportunity to say which amenity they most wanted. Twenty-four people said walking trails were the amenity they dreamed of the most, while 20 said a dog park, 16 said pickleball courts, 14 said a golf course and nine said a disc golf course.

Here are some of the suggestions residents made when given a “fill in the blank” option. Answers are transcribed almost exactly as they were written:

• Dog park!
• Anything but another dog park
• SKATE PARK (CAN BE SMALL)
• Could we make part of it a zebra sanctuary?
• Skijoring training area
• Kid stuff
• TREES
• Artificial wave machine

Some of the most creative ideas:

• A city-funded vet office for wildlife so there is a place where people can bring injured wildlife
• Locking wooden stocks for public shaming
• Film at Park Hill showing movies on a big screen
• Roller rink

About 80 of the respondents said they lived in Park Hill neighborhoods.

Irene Andress, 70, has lived in the area for the last 10 years. A frequent visitor of City Park, Andress hopes the city will build a pond to bring in migratory birds to Park Hill. She would also love to see a bike loop.

“We don’t have great trail access here at Park Hill,” she said. “We just need something where you can get in your regular exercise.”

Shontel Lewis, who represents the neighborhood on the Denver City Council, said it’s early in the feedback process but, mostly, her constituents just want to be a part of the decision-making process around the park’s development.

“And that doesn’t mean that it’s not a park for everyone,” Lewis said. “The residents can have the opportunity to design what they believe the vision for that park should be, and it can be a park that is open to the public and meets the needs of the greater Denver metro area.”

The city is in the process of formally acquiring the property through a land trade deal with the owners, Westside Investment Partners. Pending council approval, Johnston has agreed to give the developers a 145-acre parcel of land the city owns near Denver International Airport.

Denver Parks and Recreation hasn’t yet started to solicit feedback, but residents can sign up to be notified once the process has begun on its website. The city plans to build upon input it has received in the past with surveys, pop-up events, public meetings and open houses, said Stephanie Figueroa, a spokesperson for the parks department.

The park’s development will be funded through a 2018 voter-approved 0.25% sales tax called the Parks Legacy Fund, which dedicates dollars for parks, trails and open space in the city.

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