DuBois Park is a mature residential neighborhood filled with single-family homes that date between the 1950s and 1970s. The neighborhood was named for the 3.5 acre DuBois Park that is an integral part of the community. The City of Vancouver Parks and Recreation Department, as part of its Master Plan, identified the need to renovate the park for safer and better use by the residents. In early 2019, the City contracted with Otak to participate in the public engagement sessions to gain insight into priorities for the residents and then to design the park, and oversee construction.
David Haynes took on the dual role of landscape architect and project manager and said while he worked closely with the project manager for the City, Otak was given free rein for the design. “We were very cognizant that the ideas we developed needed to work with the City’s long-term maintenance capabilities,” David said.
Otak and the City hosted two public meetings as open houses at the park site. The City and Otak’s project managers co-led the events with the City discussing background processes and funding sources, while David introduced design concepts and implementation. The first meeting was to gather ideas from the residents and the second was to show them the design concepts that came out of the meeting. “We developed options of how the park could be laid out and talked about the pros and cons of each. Residents chose to mix and match different aspects that they were shown and we put those results into a final plan,” David said.
David added that Otak was committed to addressing comments and concerns, which, in one case, resulted in setting the basketball court a couple of feet below the surrounding grade to help attenuate the noise of bouncing basketballs.
In the final version, Otak designed an improved playground, a loop trail around the perimeter of the park, an irrigation system to feed the new lawn areas, and a trellis as a gateway attraction. One distinctive feature is an embankment around the swingsets consisting of large boulders that kids can climb over. “The City project manager relied on us to select and place boulders. He was uncertain about how it would come together but was pleased with the result,” David said.
The Otak team has a fondness for park projects because they are viewed as foundational to a strong community and allow for plenty of creativity that a design team relishes. “That’s what planning and design are about—creating neighborhoods that people enjoy living in. Park projects are powerful in creating a sense of community,” David reflected.
The park had a soft opening in December 2020 and there are plans for an official ribbon-cutting this spring.
A 11.5-mile trail corridor, the St. Vrain Greenway extends from North 75th Street to Weld County Road 7 in Longmont, Colorado. The initial design included six pedestrian bridges along with trail segments adjacent to these bridges, beneath the existing vehicular bridge at Main Street (State Highway 119), and other segments where slopes or site grading was critical.
Extending a Trail Corridor While Minimizing Impact to Habitat
The initial 9.5-mile trail was followed by a two-mile segment of path designed through a riparian corridor and included a 140-foot span pedestrian bridge over St. Vrain Creek while designing for erosion control beneath the existing SH 119 bridge. Ramp connections to bike lanes along the highway, modification to an existing field access bridge, and a new pedestrian underpass structure at 119th Street and East County Line Road were also included as part of the complete St. Vrain Greenway design. Spanning from 25 to 140 feet in crossing St. Vrain Creek, Lefthand Creek, Old Dry Creek, and the Bonus Ditch, the pedestrian bridges used break-away bridge designs – from Design Concepts – in order to reduce construction costs and minimize site impacts. Several alternative path alignments were considered in the conceptual design phase to minimizing impacts to wetlands, wildlife habitat, nesting bald eagles, and other sensitive areas. Otak was involved throughout the project’s phases, from subconsultant on landscape architecture for the six pedestrian bridges to prime for the St. Vrain Greenway path design.
The Organic Act requires the National Park Service (NPS) to provide for the enjoyment of current and future generations. The NPS Social Science Program supports research to gain an understanding of dimensions of enjoyment and public appreciation through the study of humans and their interactions with NPS services, sites and facilities. An interdisciplinary team led by Otak, Inc. was recently awarded a nationwide contract with the NPS Social Science Program to provide visitor surveys, visitor use and transportation studies, and other socioeconomic research and analytic task orders that will assist parks with ongoing planning and management to serve visitors’ needs. With key partners RRC Associates of Boulder, CO, and the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) in the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana, along with multiple other subcontracting partners, the team will be on-call to the NPS for the next five years to a maximum contract level of $40 million.
“Our team is honored and excited to be selected to support the NPS in its ongoing mission to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations,” said Mandi Roberts. Mandi will serve as the overall contract manager for the team, and she brings a strong commitment to stewardship and supporting America’s treasured National Park System, with more than 20 years of working with the NPS on a wide variety of task orders across the US. “One of our first assignments under this new contract will be conducting a visitor survey for Zion National Park, where I have worked on previous transportation-related studies. Zion continues to experience heavy visitor use, particularly related to the popular shuttle through Zion Canyon. The results of the visitor survey work at Zion will help inform core issues of visitor use management, management solutions, and to develop a current and deeper understanding of who visits Zion National Park, what they do during their visit, and their spending profile.”
Otak, RRC, ITRR and our other team members bring unique qualifications and strengths including management of NPS task orders and completion of tourism and recreation research across the country for decades. According to Jeremy Sage, ITRR Associate Director, “This contract is an opportunity to assist the NPS with a variety of issues, such as addressing crowding and congestion to improve visitor experience and access; helping to identify staffing needs and management strategies; and quantifying the positive economic impacts the parks have on local economies. We are excited to work with this stellar team to bring new and creative research methods and analyses.”
These creative approaches will be applied for task orders under a variety of project types:
Understanding in-park visitor use to allow land managers to make better decisions on visitor experiences and the protection of resources.
Investigating personnel and partner studies of internal agency and department issues from federal staff comprised within and with partners.
Assessing regional economic impact and economic welfare studies that include cost/benefit and regulatory flexibility analyses, willingness to pay and visitor spending profile estimates.
Studying recreation, transportation and carrying capacity issues including visitor movement, travel pattern studies, visitor use level estimation and evaluations of conditions with how they change over time and under various use levels.
Conducting non-visitor studies to look at visitor displacement and awareness of people in gateway communities and regional stakeholders, and studies of potential future visitors to assist in future management decisions.
The trio of Otak, RRC, and ITRR worked together on a large visitor study to better understand the visitor experience given varying congestion levels at sites in Yellowstone National Park. “Our unique approach in Yellowstone of using geofence technology to better understand the visitor experience in real-time provided managers with broad decision-making capabilities not possible in past research. We’re thrilled to be able to continue assisting NPS units across the country protect their vital resources and continue providing high-quality experiences through innovative research.” said Jake Jorgenson, Lead Analyst of RRC Associates.“The NPS is excited to work with this extensive team of subject matter experts to inform the variety of socioeconomic and natural resource data and analytic needs for our parks and programs. This contract will significantly contribute to data-driven decision making across the bureau,” said Bret Meldrum, NPS Social Science Program Chief.
The five-year contract will be served through a collaborative approach between Otak, RRC, and ITRR, as well as team members around the country that include academic partners who lead research at the University of Montana’s College of Business, Department of Mathematics, and the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and other academic researchers from Utah State University, Oregon State University, University of Colorado, Kansas State University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Maine, and Virginia Polytechnic University. Collaborative business partners nationwide include Bioeconomics and Global Parks Solutions both from Missoula, MT; NatureWerks, LLC from Minneapolis, MN; Agnew: Beck Consulting from Anchorage, AK; EPS from Oakland, CA; Fehr & Peers from offices throughout the US; New Line Consulting from Gallatin Gateway, MT; Evermost from Kirkland, WA; Industrial Economics from Cambridge, MA; Kirk Value Planners from Goodyear, AZ; OmniTrak Group from Honolulu, HA; NeoTreks from Castle Rock, CO; and L2 Data Collection from Boise, ID and Salt Lake City, UT.
For Otak, the NPS is a cornerstone client. “The culture and values of the NPS and those of our firm are closely aligned,” said Chad Weiser, Otak’s Federal Practice Leader, “through a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach, we analyze, plan, and design the best solutions for each unique park setting. Our teams focus on being thorough, diligent, and responsive in serving the needs of the NPS, whether for research and studies or for design and construction.”
Image Credits:
Image 1: Yellowstone Geyser/US National Park Service
Image 2: Yellowstone Geyser/Neal Herbert for the US National Park Service
Header: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial/Rachel Hendrix for the US National Park Service
Times are challenging as we all face the impacts of COVID-19. But as our day to day lives have been disrupted, mother nature continues on unabated. Flowers have come up, migrating birds have returned, and temperatures are rising.
In recognition of all that nature provides, Earth Day is celebrated throughout April. While this year there won’t be group events as we practice social distancing, Otak is still taking this time to celebrate the great outdoors.
Otak has again signed on as a business partner for Earth Day Oregon to recognize, support and celebrate our planet and those organizations that work hard every day for our natural world. Through Earth Day Oregon, Otak donated to Depave, a nonprofit that works to turn paved spaces into greenspaces to create more livable cities. We understand the environmental and social benefits greenspace can have and gladly stand behind and have volunteered for the many projects Depave has undertaken to green the landscape of Portland. We look forward to working together with Depave on its next project.
On the homefront, Otak’s GO Committee and Operations Team remind us that Earth Day is really every day and there are things we can do in our daily lives to get back to nature.
Start a small garden. You can build raised beds in your yard, or simply pot some herbs and veggies to grow on your porch.
Bike and walk more. Do you live near your local grocery store? Consider if it is possible to walk or bike for your next trip to the store (while following proper PPE and social distancing guidelines). A win-win for getting outside and getting your essential errands done.
Start a home compost. Many of us are already doing this. Check-in with your local trash service to see if they offer compost pick up. If not and if space allows, you can start composting in your backyard by purchasing something like a “Bio Monster” or “Worm Factory” bin and use the compost for your garden.
Shop locally, eat seasonally. With stay-at-home orders in place during the opening weeks for farmers’ markets, your local market or farm might be offering pick-up or delivery!
Play Earth Day Bingo! Get the family involved in this great activity from the City of Kirkland.
Getting outside is one of the recommendations for keeping COVID-19 at bay, as well as a way to maintain your mental health. We want our employees to stay healthy so we encourage you to get out and show your love for the planet, on earth day and every day!
The existing structures at the Fall River Entrance Station, built in the 1960s as part of the Mission 66 program, were aging to the point of contributing to employee health and safety concerns. Along with an entrance station needing to handle increasing visitation numbers, updates to the facilities would be designed.
Addressing Park Health, Safety, and Congestion with a New Facilities Design
Rocky Mountain National Park had concerns with the Park Fall River Entrance included poor air quality from exhaust fumes of queuing vehicles and inadequate space for completing shift reports, taking breaks, and coordinating work tasks. The entrance station (adjacent to the Fall River Trail) also needed to be updated to address these problems and to handle increasing numbers of visitors as well as even more diverted traffic from Beaver Meadows to reduce traffic congestion and delays in Estes Park on US Highway 36. Through this task order, Otak is completing an integrated process following NPS protocols and requirements that includes predesign and schematic design of alternatives, completion of an environmental assessment and assessment of effect (EA/AEF) and preparation of a full schematic design report.
Envisioned as a 3,800 sf Net Zero building, the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center includes spaces for exhibits, conference and training rooms, and offices. The design allows the facility to act as a hub for visitor activities, including refuge tours, and interpretive and environmental programs. The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is 16 miles northwest of Denver on the grounds of a former nuclear defense facility. The site is generally undisturbed and provides habitat for a number of threatened and endangered species. Otak is providing architecture, landscape architecture, and structural engineering services for this visitor center.
The NPS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) partnered on construction of this 1,600 SF joint use facility that includes a lobby for visitor contact, restrooms, CBP space, and building support spaces. The goal was to provide access for park visitors and other members of the public to cross the border between the US and Mexico at the historic crossing location that had been closed since 2001.
A Sustainable Design for a Historic Border Crossing
The lobby houses automated US Customs scanning kiosks, maps, and general information on Big Bend NP and Mexican conservation areas just across the border. Site design included a parking area, an external breezeway, and exterior plaza area with a covered trellis for shade in this desert location. This facility was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and integrates simple, but sustainable systems for ease of maintenance.
In replacing the existing Visitor Contact Station, a new welcome center would be designed just inside the Big Oak Flat entrance to Yosemite National Park. The 4,000 square-foot facility includes office space for staff working at the facility and within this district of the park. The Otak team developed solutions responding to a range of programmatic, functional, and logistical requirements involving multiple stakeholders, while developing an architectural language and character appropriate for a project of this significance—an entrance to this unique World Heritage Site.
An Energy-Efficient Welcome Center for a World Heritage Site
The Welcome Center design incorporates high energy efficient systems while site improvements include relocation of an emergency generator and a communication hub serving the entrance development area. In addition to the Welcome Center itself is also a separate, 1,250 square-foot restroom facility. A new exterior orientation plaza allows programs and self-serve orientation for visitors. The plaza includes information on general park orientation, interpretation, seasonal information, and trip planning while also providing shade areas and informal seating. Visitor parking will be expanded with an accessible pedestrian walkway extending from the parking area to the welcome center and restrooms.
In replacing a temporary, 1,448 square-foot visitor center, the National Park Service (NPS) aimed to update facilities for visitors and staff alike. A 2,500 square-foot permanent visitor center would ultimately be constructed in its place. Otak led the design of these park improvements.
An Updated Facility for Improved Visitor Experiences and Park Operations
After studying potential locations for a new visitor center, the site of the existing double-wide trailer originally installed in 1977 was chosen for its replacement. The new design provides space for visitor orientation, seating for an updated audiovisual program, fully accessible exhibits, public restrooms, and office and storage space for ranger staff. With the goal of improving visibility and safe access to the site from the public roadway, the project also includes a realigned entry drive. Other site improvements include a new entry monument sign, an expanded parking lot, an outdoor interpretive plaza for education programs, new outdoor exhibits, upgraded power and communication service, and replacement of the septic system. The visitor center, parking lot, exhibits, audiovisual program and public restrooms will be fully accessible, allowing visitors of different abilities to learn about and experience park resources.
Now the nation’s premier urban National Wildlife Reserve, Rocky Mountain Arsenal has evolved over the decades. The site once served an Army facility associated with weapons manufacturing during WWII before being decommissioned and transitioning to its current use as a wildlife refuge. With increasing park use, new administrative facilities would be designed and built to improve operations as well as visitors’ experiences.
Expanding Features in a Sustainable Design for a Park’s Growing Use
The site had 250,000 visitors in 2015 and expected to soon eclipse 1 million annual visitors. Otak, as a subconsultant, provided architecture, landscape architecture, and structural design services for a new headquarters building and meeting facility for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) administrative staff, separate from visitor facilities. With a focus on sustainability, the new facilities were designed with a minimum LEED Gold standard. Solar readiness and daylighting strategies were included to lower the energy requirements for lighting and cooling, while the stone siding is locally sourced. The project consists of a 4,200 square-feet headquarters building, a 1,000 square-feet meeting annex building, a 56-space parking lot, realignment of entrance driveways and gateway features, expansion of the existing parking lot and associated hardscape, landscape, and utility systems.
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Start a home compost.
