Riverfront park to get an upgrade

Riverfront park is getting an upgrade

Scott Martin, Administrator Parks and Outdoors, said, “Riverfront park is one of our greatest assets and it is, but it’s also 20 years old so it’s time to revisit it, and just like probably families around Chattanooga around spring you look at your front yard and go ‘meh we got some work to do here.’ It’s kind of that moment for us. So this is a chance for our community to ask questions about what they want to see the park do today.”

An upgrade is on the way, but not without you.

“Parks are all about the people who use them. There are a lot smart planners out there and they are great, they’re wonderful, but at the end of the day if the park doesn’t serve the folks who use it and we don’t hear from the folks that use it, you’re really planning in a vacuum,” said Martin.

Three plans were showcased.

Emily Mack, CEO and President of River City Company said “And so we have 3 concepts that we would like to share with our Chattanooga community and get their reaction and their feedback.”

People came with many suggestions. Mack said, “residents have shared that they really want shade, they want comfortable seating and they want things to do. They want features and amenities and that is what some of these concepts include.”

Many more ideas were on the table as well, like a dog park, beer garden, a beach, and more.

“We will gather our community’s input and insight and their feedback to those 3 concepts afterwards we will take that, we are gonna distill that down, we are going to start to shape and refine it,” said Mack.

The final plan will be available in August.