Amenities for the future.
As cities grow, they need to think carefully about how community parks and open spaces are planned and programmed. Sultan’s parks and downtown spaces are community gathering points. They can be a place where community can be strengthened. Where holidays are celebrated, and memories can be made. An early planning advocate Jane Jakobs observed:
“A sense of place is built up, in the end, from many little things too, some so small people take them for granted and yet the lack of them takes the flavor out of the city….”
Access to the downtown or to our community parks are key to long term success. Currently access to Sultan’s Skate Park via walking, biking, transit, and driving is easy. There is ample parking near the skate park as well. At a Farmers Market event this past September, I interviewed two teens skating at the Sultan Skate Park. They had taken Community Transit to Sultan from Monroe because Sultan’s Skate Park had some unique features they wanted to practice on. After a couple of hours of skating, purchasing food and water, I watched these incredibly smart high school kids get on the bus and return to Monroe. We are continuing to ask everyone from kids to senior citizens what amenity features within our parks or our downtown would you like to see in Sultan over time.
Some ideas we hear – How do we design the community for everyone? How do we design our streets for everyone? There is an idea known as “Universal Design”. The definition of universal design: “Universal design is design that’s usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adoption or specialized design.” By Ron Mace an architect who had polio.
Please contact the Community Development Department at 360.793.1311 with any questions or comments you may have.
Comments