Bring your ideas: Future vision for Falls Park is waiting for them

By Jacqueline Palfy, for Pigeon605

The options are endless when it comes to what’s next for Falls Park.

But this week begins the process of narrowing down what – exactly – the public wants to see there. The first public meetings of the master planning process are Wednesday, July 13, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and 6 to 7:30 p.m., at City Center, 231 N. Dakota Ave., in the Cooper Room.

The starting point will be the design from Confluence, the firm that won the Falls Park Design Competition late last year. The proposal is a big one – with a price tag upward of $140 million and a timeline of decades.

The design includes everything from improved walking routes and viewing spots to mountain bike trails to a new access bridge and a redevelopment of the abandoned quarry on the east side of Weber Avenue.

The city will have additional open houses and public meetings throughout the process, said Don Kearney, director of the Sioux Falls Parks & Recreation Department. Each step is designed to refine the master plan before seeking approval from the parks board and then the City Council. Kearney expects that to happen in late winter or early spring 2023.

“These meetings are really about going over the design competition and what went into that and then the steps we will take,” Kearney said. “We are encouraging people to interact with our website or attend our public meetings and provide feedback. If they have a new idea or creative idea, we’d love to hear it.”

The workshop this week will include a presentation with an overview of the planning process as well as a series of engagement exercises to help gain initial feedback for plan development, according to a news release from the city.

In addition to the workshop, an interactive public input tool is available by clicking here. It includes a short survey and an interactive mapping tool that allows residents to comment directly on a map of Falls Park.

So far, feedback has been positive, Kearney said. “People are very excited about the concept.”

“There will be a lot of different perspectives and ideas on how we go about developing Falls Park,” he said. “We’re here to build consensus and come up with a great plan.”

Other park project updates

Projects are happening all over the city right now.

“There’s a lot of support in Sioux Falls for our park system,” Kearney said. “A lot of people really decide they want to move here because of our park system and our trail system.”

Here are some quick updates:
• Jacobson Plaza will go to bid this fall, with construction following.
• The tennis courts at Tomar Park should be done by the end of August.
• The skate park will be a springtime bid, with construction next year.

Falls Park of the future? Design competition offers glimpse of what’s possible