Parks and Public Landscaping Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2022 09 14

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Open Space Advisory Board Minutes August 10, 2022 Page 3 of 7 presentation includes slides to describe the specifics of the project for those new to the proposal. The board expressed confusion over the Coal Creek Trail $600k CIP currently in the budget. Most board members had never heard of this project and the board wondered why it had not come to OSAB for review. When David told the board that it was his understanding that this project was intended to pave part of the Coal Creek Trail, Charles indicated that he would not be in support of that plan. Jessamine recommended adding the specific projects staff offered to cut from the budget in exchange for this CIP. Susan said that she thought it might be worth adding the argument that an attractive wayfinding system could bring more business to the city's retailers. Jessamine commented that installing the phase 1 wayfinding would be a good advertisement for the Open Space & Park tax just as that tax is coming up for renewal with the voters. Mark Cathcart 763 Sweet Clover Lane (remote). He said he supports implementation of wayfinding program. He lives in the North End and finds that it is easier for his neighbors to figure out how to get to S. Public Rd. in Lafayette from their neighborhood than to get to Main St. in Louisville and wayfinding would really help. He added that he is a member of the Louisville Cultural Council and understands that the city is hurting financially, but that it is his impression that the lack of action in trail wayfinding is holding up other projects around the city. He thinks the trails are the city's greatest asset and the city should invest in them. Trails Tiger Team: Charles presented his report on the Trails Tiger Team. He listed and briefly discussed the objectives of the tiger team to the board (see page 41 of the meeting packet). The board has supported designating a third category of trail type ("unimproved" or "dirt"), but recognized a need to fully explore the implications with staff. It was unclear whether this "third" category had appeared in any city documents yet. The tiger team used Warembourg Open Space as a pilot study area to develop a formal process to evaluate social trails on open space land. They chose Warembourg because it includes lots of different trail types, including the trail along the eastern edge of the property, which is a key point of connection along the Mining Trail. They suggested a rubric for designating social trails for management strategies: ignore, designate, upgrade, or restore (to natural condition). Charles shared an example of a Strava heat map as a proxy of trail use, explaining the utility and limitations of these sorts of data. Susan commented that habitat and non- human use should be part of the discussion too, not just human needs. Mark Cathcart asked for a little more detail about how the Strava heat maps work. The team is still looking for ideas on how to best include public input in the process. The team has a meeting scheduled with Adam and Ember on August 22. 5