Redmond looks to improve Central Dry Canyon; some residents want more parks added
(Update: Adding video, comments from City of Redmond, trail users)
Video, survey focus on three approaches under consideration
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The City of Redmond hopes to improve some aspects of the Central Dry Canyon, to make it safer, more accessible and more enjoyable.
Maria Ramirez is the city's parks planner and project manager.
“We’ve noticed some struggles with pedestrian flow, vehicle flow, bicycle flow that we want to address and really make this a continued guy for people to come to,” Ramirez said Thursday.
The canyon spans from Sam Johnson Oark to the north side of the Weigand family dog park.
The city is asking for public input for things like parking, trail design, and facility locations. It has three concept designs and an option to vote on your favorite.
The city is looking to improve parking and pedestrian pathways along the trail. Some community members, including Josephine Weigand, who helped build the Weigand family dog park nearly 10 years ago, said they are more interested in turning empty areas into possibly another park.
“I would like to put another dog park in, a small dog park,” Weigand said.
She feels the park has grown enough to add an additional “small dog park.”
Jon Chandler takes his dog to the dog park and his son to other areas of the Central Dry Canyon, and thinks the entire trail has room for more possibilities.
“I think we're wasting a lot of the canyon space, so I hope this project addresses all the space in between,” Chandler said.
He said the trail may be a lot of people's first stop in Redmond and could use any improvement possible.
“This is like, I think a hub for Redmond, because it’s the one thing I don’t think Bend has. They don’t have this beautiful canyon,” Chandler said.
Ramirez said she recognizes that the park is becoming more popular.
“Obviously, with Redmond's exponential growth, there's more people that want to come in, and there's more people that want to use our facilities. But that’s what we want to encourage as well,” Ramirez said.
Chandler hopes the city takes advantage and listens to the people.
“It's a good place to build on top of, and to not do it is basically, you know, wasting a good opportunity to do something good with it,” Chandler said.
The video and survey are located on the city’s webpage at https://www.redmondoregon.gov/government/departments/parks-division/central-dry-canyon-planning-2813
The survey will remain open until Nov. 29. The city will use the top responses to inform the final design. The final design is expected to be completed in March 2022, with a construction schedule to follow.
For general questions about the project, contact Redmond’s Parks Planner and Project Manager Maria Ramirez at 541.504.2003 or email maria.ramirez@redmondoregon.gov.
