Posted: Mar 13, 2009 7:56 am
I've gotten several of these announcements in the last few days. The powers that be want to turn the field in front of Rainbow Lake into a big run off storage drain! Absolutely unbelievable. Please take a minute to email your opposition to this plan if you are so inclined.
To all who love Overton Park:
The city plans to dig out the Greensward in Overton Park, and we need your voices to speak up to defend it. The city engineers want to improve drainage in the nearby Lick Creek by digging out the field by Rainbow Lake and making it a bowl 18' deep (as deep as a two story building sunk into the field). The bowl would collect storm drain run-off (and the trash, oily residue, lawn chemicals and everything else that gets washed down storm drains).
This is the ONLY field in the park that is not part of the golf course, zoo, or other organized, paid-for activity. We need this gathering place for picnics, kite-flying, dog walking, game playing, and general hanging out. That's what parks are for, and this one is constantly in use by the people.
According to the engineering plan, 411 parking spaces would be set aside for overflow parking from the Zoo, but the rest of the field would be converted to a bowl or “retention basin.” The engineering maps and more information are posted at overtonparkforever.com.
This project is typical of the way that the some city agencies look at irreplacible park land as targets of opportunity for projects which they would not consider worthwhile if park land were not available.
Since there is no longer a civilian “Park Commission” which was the official voice for the park, we need citizens to speak up to protect it. The Vollentine-Evergreen Community Association
http://www.veca-neighborhood.org will host a public meeting at their headquarters, 1680 Jackson Avenue, at 6:30pm TONIGHT, Wednesday, March 11, to discuss the issue of Lick Creek flood control. Representatives from the City of Memphis will be on hand to answer questions. Feel free to carry some "SAVE OUR PARK" signs.
Whether you can attend the meeting or not, your written comments may be sent to Hugh Teaford at the City of Memphis Engineering division. His email is Hugh.Teaford@memphistn.gov and his address is 125 N. Main, Room 644, Memphis TN 38103.
Here are the key decision-makers to copy on your written comments:
Mayor Willie W. Herenton
mayor@memphistn.gov
Director Wain Gaskins
City of Memphis Engineering
125 N. Main St. Room 644
Memphis, TN 38103
Email: wain.gaskins@memphistn.gov
901-576-6700
Director Cindy Buchanan
City of Memphis Park Services
2599 Avery Avenue
Memphis, TN 38112
Email: cindy.buchanan@memphistn.gov
Councilman Jim Strickland
Memphis City Council, District 5
125 N. Main, Room 514
Memphis, TN 38103
Email: jim.strickland@memphistn.gov
Email and addresses for other City Council Members are on line at
http://www.cityofmemphis.org/framework.aspx?page=689
Congressman Steve Cohen
U.S. Congress, District 9
167 North Main Street, Suite 369
Memphis, TN 38103
Email via his website
http://cohen.house.gov
Please help preserve this priceless park for future generations.