County Parks plan up for review

The Lane County Parks draft master plan has been released for public comment. Over the next several months, the county’s staff will be gathering written comments and conducting public open houses in preparation for formal hearings with the Parks Advisory Committee, Planning Commission, and ultimately the Board of County Commissioners. Included in the review are a half dozen parks – from Armitage to the Jennie B. Harris Wayside, as well as a dozen boat landings.

One of the largest is the 32-acre Hendricks Bridge Park between Cedar Flat and Walterville. Planned changes include the replacement and realignment of the existing boat ramp and expanding the parking lot.

Other changes could include adding an RV dump station, developing an all new campground of approximately 21 to 32 sites, with at least half providing full hookups (electric/water/sewer/WiFi).

At a 2005 community meeting, youth participation was suggested as a parks “super goal.” Hendricks is identified in the System Assessment as one of a few parks with opportunities for the addition of formal swimming areas (where informal areas currently exist).

People can submit comments in several ways -

• Online by answering a few quick questions and providing your comments - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S2M66JN ,

• Comment directly by email ([email protected] ),

• Or by attending an open house meeting, scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m.

The first will be held on Thursday, September 24th: at Harris Hall, 125 E. 8th Ave. in Eugene)

Another meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 6th, at McKenzie Fire and Rescue’s Leaburg station, 42870 McKenzie Hwy. in Leaburg.

The draft master plan is available online at http://bit.ly/1h3GVt

Image above: A dozen-odd boat landings along the McKenzie River, administered by Lane County Parks, could be upgraded in the future.