Folsom Street Park
Location
East Los Angeles, California
timeline
2024
Role
Consultant
Services
More Info
The Folsom Street Park proposal studied the feasibility and developed a community vision for transforming a third of an acre of underutilized public land in the City Terrace neighborhood of unincorporated Los Angeles County.
The public right-of-way is a paper street that was never developed due to the steep sloping conditions. The project focused on establishing connectivity between Gage and Herbert Avenues, addressing neighborhood safety concerns, nuisance dumping, and developing much needed natural and park space for this park poor community. The feasibility study and community community led design were completed through 2024, with the County of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department pursuing funding for final design and construction.
Urban + Systems
Planning + Policy
Building + Â Interior
Landscape Architecture
The overall proposed park design creates a series of unique experiences that takes advantage of the varied site topography and existing infrastructure, that is unified by a primary circulation path that meanders through the entire site. The Herbert entrance features a small seating area, which connects to a paved walkway that gently slopes down to the central activity area. From there, visitors can access the outdoor gym, community garden, sloped lawn, and picnic area. The natural playground slopes up to meet the path, and children can scramble up and down the small embankment. The path continues to a small flexible plaza with a single-stall restroom and wood deck, where the bioswale terminates. From the plaza, the path ramps down to meet the accessible entrance to the natural playground and then converts to a ramping wood boardwalk. The boardwalk makes a switchback partially down the hill, where visitors can appreciate the fragrant foliage and blooms flanking them while taking in views of the surrounding neighborhood. As visitors descend the boardwalk, they pass by a public art feature, which can also be seen on the hillside from far away. The exact public art installation can be determined through further community engagement in collaboration with the selected artist(s). The boardwalk terminates in a flat resting place, which signals the transition to a switchback dirt trail that leads down the hillside and connects to the entrance from N Gage Avenue. The Gage entrance has shaded seating that doubles as a bus waiting area and houses a little free library, where neighbors can exchange books. To preserve a natural feel, impermeable surfaces are limited to the circulation paths up top, the plaza, and the boardwalk. The picnic, gym, and community garden are decomposed granite, which is a permeable surface that, when installed properly, complies with accessibility requirements. Landscape and very small segments of pavement run over the sewer line to preserve access if necessary.
Graphic
Engagement
The concept for the Folsom Street Pocket Park emerged from the East Los Angeles Community Parks and Recreation Plan and Park Needs Assessment of Unincorporated East Los Angeles. Considering the localized natural of a neighborhood parks’ potential benefits and impacts, community engagement was targeted to nearby residents with door hangers on-site signage, and canvassing, while still reaching the broader community through more traditional means. The workshop activities were designed to build from one another yet be flexible enough to allow for participation at any step. The activities were made to be visually engaging and fun so that community members of all ages and abilities could participate and relate to the information quickly. In-person (including virtual) outreach and engagement was conducted in both English and Spanish. Participants were then able to identify and prioritize amenities for the park and adjacent streets, to support integration of the park into the neighborhood. Ultimately two design concepts were presented to the community - both sharing where there was consensus but each exploring directions where there was divergence in the community opinion.
