New survey asks if Ann Arbor would benefit from more downtown parks and open spaces

Do you think Ann Arbor would benefit from more parks and open spaces downtown? If so, how big should they be, what should they look like, and where should they be located?

The Downtown Park Subcommittee of the city's Park Advisory Commission is inviting the public to answer those questions and more in a new online survey open through Aug. 5.

• Take the survey

"We are excited to learn what the citizens feel is important when creating good public spaces," said Ingrid Ault, chairwoman of the Downtown Parks Subcommittee. "This survey is seeking to understand three key areas: 1) Determining if there is a need for new downtown parks/open space, 2) If yes, what would that space look like, and 3) How should additional spaces be funded if they are desired.”

The Downtown Park Subcommittee was formed in March, following completion of the Connecting William Street Plan, which recommended dense development on city-owned properties downtown.

The committee is working to assess the situation with downtown parks and plans to make a recommendation to the City Council this fall about use of city-owned properties as parks or open space.

The committee is focusing on city-owned properties in the Downtown Development Authority district — while maintaining awareness of additional nearby properties such as Liberty Plaza, where there's already a concrete park at Liberty and Division, and 721 N. Main and 415 W. Washington, where the city wants to develop greenway anchor parks as part of the Allen Creek Greenway.

The committee is planning to hold two public meetings in September to share the online survey results and further engage the community.

"We want to hear from as many people as possible to feel confident we are representing the community desires when we forward our recommendations to City Council in the fall," Ault said.

The committee hopes each person who participates will forward the survey to at least one other person. For more information on Ann Arbor parks, visit www.a2gov.org/parks.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.