Louisville Waterfront Park

Infobox park
park=Louisville Waterfront Park


image size=250px
caption=The Louisville Waterfront Park exhibits rolling hills, spacious lawns and walking paths on Louisville's waterfront in the downtown area
type=Municipal park
location=Downtown Louisville, Kentucky
coordinates=
size=72 acres
opened=1999
operator=Waterfront Development Corporation
annual visitors=
status=Open, expansion planned coord|38|15|33.73|N|85|44|46.72|W|type:landmark|display=title

Louisville Waterfront Park is a 72-acre (291,000 m²) municipal park adjacent to the downtown area of Louisville, Kentucky and the Ohio River. Specifically, it is adjacent to Louisville's wharf and Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, which are situated to the west of the park.

Development

Phase I of Waterfront Park consists of approximately 55 acres (223,000 m²) and was dedicated on July 4, 1999. Louisville architects, Bravura Corporation, in association with Hargreaves associates were the designers of the park. Much of the park, such as the Great Lawn, had opened to the public by the fall of 1998. The initial development cost was about $58 million, a combination of public and private money. [cite news|title=Holiday events will showcase Waterfront Park|date=1999-02-01|last=Shafer|first=Sheldon|publisher="The Courier-Journal"] The site of the park was previously used by scrap yards, sand pits and other industrial sites.

The park hosted hundreds of events in its first full season of use, including outdoor concerts and other festivals, with an estimated total attendance of more than a million people. There were problems early-on with the grass being too easily worn down by visitors.

Phase II of the park opened on June 10, 2004, and added approximately 17 acres (69,000 m²), including the Adventure Playground, which opened in July 2003. There is also an esplanade along the river's edge and a cafe plaza where a local chain Tex-Mex restaurant opened in Spring 2005. The park also contains the Brown-Forman amphitheater, docks for transient boaters, and an area for a new rowing facility for the University of Louisville Women's Rowing Team, school and community rowing groups.

Construction on part of Phase III began in late Spring 2005, which will add 13 acres (53,000 m²) and include the conversion of the former Big Four Railroad bridge into the longest pedestrian only bridge in the world. The bridge will connect to Jeffersonville Indiana's waterfront park. Several more lawn areas, tree groves, walking paths, and picnic areas will also be added. As of May 2007 it is not clear when the long-planned conversion will begin, as funding has not yet been found. [cite news|title=Big Four Bridge walkway about to be a step closer|publisher="The Courier-Journal"|date=2007-05-16|author=Shafer, Sheldon]

Features

As of Summer 2005, Waterfront Park offers free wireless Internet access. Currently, this is the largest public park in the nation to offer such access. The park is packed each year during Thunder over Louisville, a major fireworks exhibition which occurs on the Ohio right in front of the park.

The western half of the park features linear fountains, not officially intended for swimming but nevertheless quite popular for that purpose. Further east, here are two expansive lawns, bisected by the interstate, and a small series of docks for boats are the Children's Play Area and the Adventure Playground. If completed, the pedestrian walkway and ramp will be on the far western end of the park.

The park is heavily used on a daily basis, and averages more than 1.5 million visitors per year. It is a popular home to free and pay concerts and festivals, especially in the summer.

Waterfront Park connects to the Riverwalk via the Belvedere, and may eventually be part of an effort to create a long mixed use trail around the entire city of Louisville.

Interstate issue

Controversially, I-64 runs through the park, and portions of the park exist under it. "8664.org", a grassroots campaign with popular support but little apparent political momentum, aims to re-route I-64 to enhance Louisville's waterfront. I-64 will be widened over the park as a part of the Ohio River Bridges Project, supported by the Mayor and most involved in city and interstate planning.

In May 2007 designs for the span over the great lawn were released, causing some controversy. The two proposed designs called for either 40 or 58 pillars, at a cost of $48 or $36 million, respectively. The Waterfront Development Corporation favored a $160 million proposal which could have as few as 10 pillars, and an aesthetically pleasing span design. This more expensive proposal was left out of the options presented. [cite news|publisher="The Courier-Journal"|url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705150416|title=Great Lawn overpass disputed|author=Green, Marcus|date=2007-05-15] The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet later apologized for omitting the design and said it could still be considered, but additional funding would have to be found. [cite news|url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/NEWS01/707120461/1008|title=Not sharing bridge idea was wrong, official says|author=Green, Marcus|date=2007-07-12|publisher="The Courier-Journal"]

References

ee also

*List of attractions and events in Louisville, Kentucky
*List of parks in Louisville, Kentucky

External links

* [http://www.louisvillewaterfront.com/ Louisville Waterfront Park website]
* [http://www.8664.org/ 8664.org website]