Winter Park seeks input on the future of Martin Luther King Jr. Park

What will Martin Luther King Jr. Park look like 10 years from now?
Winter Park moved forward in its process of updating the MLK Park master plan on April 10, discussing a document that ultimately decides the park’s vision and direction for years to come.
It’s been more than 10 years since the city updated the plan, and now is the time to give it another look, City Manager Randy Knight said.
“A lot of what’s there today came out that plan,” Knight said. “It’s time to refresh it. In connection with the library, we thought it was the time to do it.”
Preliminary suggestions by consulting firm GAI Consultants Inc. included an open lawn event space on the southeast side of the lake, across from the planned library/civic center to the northwest.
“It’s already set up like that, it’s a big open round space,” said Ryan Seacrist of GAI Consultants. “These are initial ideas to get conversations started.”
The consultants also suggested creating an area on the far south side of the park for teens and young adults that could include features such as a rock-climbing wall. MLK Park would continue to be a blend of a passive walking park to the north and an active park with playing fields to the south, Seacrist said.
“We thought there was an opportunity on (the southern) edge to introduce more things,” he said. “We have a playground for very young children. The rest are for sports and other things like that.
“There are opportunities for more amenities that are inclusive to other age groups,” Seacrist said.
Other notable changes included repairing cracked asphalt pathways throughout the north side of the park and installing a water feature at the upper northeast corner of the park. Tweaking an equalizer pipe on one section of the lake also could improve the flow of water and thus water quality, Seacrist said.
City Commissioner and CRA Board member Carolyn Cooper stressed the most important aspect of the park is the natural beauty of the trees and wildlife.
“There is nothing more precious in this community than green space, truly open expanses of unobstructed green space,” Cooper said. “That’s what makes Winter Park different from other communities.
“The things that I’d like to see improved here are things of nature,” she said. “We don’t need density and clutter here. We need a respite.”
GAI Consultants will host several meetings open to the public where residents can give input on the MLK Park master plan. The first meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, at the Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center, located at 1050 W. Morse Blvd.
The master plan is scheduled to go before the City Commission Monday, Aug. 28.