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Direct Design Assistance: Tighe-Schmitz Park Redesign, Birchwood Village, MN, 2004
Birchwood Village is a small city located on the shores of White Bear Lake. Originally a summer resort community, the city is now a fully developed suburban community with eleven parks, six of which provide access to White Bear Lake. Tighe-Schmitz Park is an actively-used park and, at approximately 3 acres, the largest in the city. The park sits on land that was historically a wetland; however, it was filled in the 1960s to allow for a range of activities such as hockey, softball, soccer, free skating, volleyball, and picnicking. Standing water in the park following a rain affects park use.
Discussions within the city and a recent survey revealed a strong preference for the current range of activities to remain in Tighe Schmitz Park but also support for new additions such as rain gardens. Faced with a strong and diverse range of opinions with regard to future updates to the park, the Parks and Open Space Committee asked the Design Center for assistance that would "address not only its recreational use as desired by community members, but an awareness of our responsibility to the water quality of White Bear Lake." The Design Center prepared three conceptual designs, exploring a wide range of possibilities for the park. One design emphasizes human activity within the park, ranging from trails to park benches. Another illustrates what the park might look like if some of the existing athletic facilities were replaced with a restored wetland and woodland. The third concept maintains the existing facilities while increasing the number of natural areas in the park. The concepts are intended to further community discussions by providing visual illustrations of what changes to Tighe Schmitz Park might look like.
This Direct Design Assistance project served as a case study in the Designing Small Urban Parks project.
Download: Park Handouts (4.6 MB)
Outcomes: The city selected option two to move forward into design and construction. The Design Center's work had facilitated agreement in what had been a contentious debate about the future of the park.
