(WXYZ) — The Downtown Detroit Partnership has proposed a plan for updating Grand Circus Park in Downtown Detroit to make it more pedestrian friendly.
The proposal, which will be in front of the Historic Detroit Commission on Wednesday, would also add a landscaped median in the middle of Woodward Ave. between Adams and Park Ave.
According to the proposal, these changes would be part of the plan for Grand Circus Park.
- Add landscaped median in Woodward Ave. to "safely connect the two halves and provide traffic calming."
- Add sidewalk and street landscaping along both sides of Woodward
- Move the mayoral monuments slightly back further from Woodward and surround them with plant beds
- Construct a food & beverage cafe on the east side of the park
- Retain the central fountains
- Retain and enhance walkways from the center of each half
- Add sidewalk and street landscaping to the perimeter of both halves
- Create a civic plaza around the west fountain
- Create a smaller, more intimate plaza around the east fountain
- Create outdoor rooms with the use of grass, trees and other pathways
- Regrade the paths and lawns in the east park to be barrier free
- Retain mature trees throughout the park
According to the DDP, it has worked with the Grand Circus Park Conservancy for the past two years to develop a master plan for updates and also held community engagement meetings.
The DDP said enough money has been raised to implement phase one of the master plan, which would include the first four bullet points above.
According to the city, the park has been used as a public space since 1807 when it was part of Judge Augustus Woodward's plan for Detroit. In 1843, it officially became a park and the city authorized funds for planting trees.
According to the proposal, by the late 1860s, the park was used for public concerts, meetings and other events, and then statues were added in the early 1900s.
There's also an underground parking garage that required the removal of the entire park in 1957, and the park was reconstructed after that.
The plan lists the fountains as the focal points of the park.
"The two mayoral statues, but NOT their locations, are important elements. The movement of statuary within a park is generally part of the natural progression of a city park over its evolution. The statues were added in 1904 and 1912, were moved at least once about 1989 to their present locations. In the 1959 photo the Maybury statue is on the west side of the park and it is presently on the east side," the proposal reads. "The trees, grass, and other landscaping are from the 1959 reconstruction or later and are NOT contributing elements to the park."
The DDP said they presented three concepts to the public and stakeholders – one butterfly, one central green and one pathways plan. In the end, the pathways plan was the most popular among the stakeholders.
They also wrote in the proposal: "The proposed master plan preserves the historic features and characteristics of the park. The proposed changing of walkway locations, the addition of a perimeter walkway, and reconfiguring the plazas around the fountains retain the historic spatial organization of the park. The addition of the food and beverage café and the Woodward median are compatible with the park. Moving the mayor statues slightly and placing them in a landscaped bed is compatible with the historic character of the park. The re-grading of the landscaping to accommodate universal access and creation of outdoor 'rooms' using trees and landscaping are compatible with the historic appearance of the park."
