City's newest park may expand its offerings in future

Most neighborhood parks in Sioux Falls offer a basketball hoop and court, but because of its smaller-than-usual space, Prairie Hills West will not include that recreational activity.

What it will do is fill a gap in the city's goal of having such park about a half mile apart. It is near West 77th Street and South Meredith Avenue, which is between Louise and Western avenues.

"Right now, we're trying to make it the best we can," Jon Jacobson told the two dozen people who attended a public meeting Thursday. He is a landscape architect with Confluence, a company that has designed three other neighborhood parks.

The 2¹/₂-acre park, bordered by streets on three sides, also has the possibility of expansion. Avera Health owns the property to the west; currently unused, the hospital system might be willing to incorporate part of its property into Prairie Hills West when it uses that land, Councilor Greg Jamison said.

Generally, neighborhood parks are five to seven acres in size, said Dave Fischer, the city's assistant park director. The city encourages developers to set aside property for parks, but it is a guideline, not a requirement.

The lack of a neighborhood park has been a frustration for years, said Doug Goodale, who has lived in the area for 11 years.

"I don't know how this one avoided it so far," he said.

The City Council and park department agreed that a neighborhood park in this southwestern area is needed, Fischer said. That is why the project was put on a fast track: designed, bid and built all this year rather than a multiyear process.

Despite the smaller-than-usual area to work with, Jacobson said, "I think we do a good job of filling the need."

The park will have a flex-field area with a backstop, a 20-by-20-foot picnic shelter, a water fountain and benches. Playground equipment will be placed on a rubberized surface that is easier to maintain than mulch, Jacobson said.

A basketball court could have been built in the park's eastern half, he said, but he thought the neighbors would prefer the additional green space.

No off-street parking is planned for Prairie Hills West because as a neighborhood park, people generally will walk or bicycle to it.

"Because of its size, it's pretty straightforward," Jacobson said.

The park is expected to open sometime after the 2015-2016 school year begins.