Bernal Community Park Master Plan

16 park trails will connect to the existing trails along Bernal Avenue. Bernal Avenue and Pleasanton Avenue sections surrounding the improved intersection will need to be modified to accommodate future traffic flows. The entry landscape concept addresses park identification, visual screening, and community history. An identification sign wall is planned on the west side of the intersection. This three- to four-foot high, curved wall will indicate the name of the park in the form of letters sandblasted or laser cut into a stone face. A six-foot high, sculpted landform will rise above and behind the sign. Accent plantings would be appropriate in front of the sign. A similar wall form is planned on the east side of the entry. This wall will form an “S” curve and be subdivided into one hundred panels, one for each year of the first one hundred years that the Park is open to the public. The panels will be inscribed with a brief community history for each year. Annual plantings will be planted at the base of each panel, reflecting different colors for each year. A walkway, concentric with the wall, will lead pedestrians into a garden setting for the history wall. An eight-foot high, sculpted landform will rise above and behind the history wall to asymmetrically balance the entry space while also screening the existing pump station. Architecture – Community Park buildings are to create subtle focal points reflecting the more dominant character of the planned natural setting in which they are to be situated. Other structures should blend into the naturalized context and become “transparent” in effect. The anticipated functions of buildings and other park structures include restrooms, concessions, maintenance and equipment storage, and picnic pavilions. Sustainability – Environmental and financial sustainability of the Community Park are very important considerations for the City. The development of the Park and open space amenities are intended to: (1) help restore wildlife habitats, (2) recycle site-generated products, and (3) reduce dependency on renewable resources. Each phase of the Park is to incorporate design, construction, and management practices to conserve energy and regenerate the natural environment. Design goals and methodologies are to involve the legal, technical, and artistic standards of sustainability, which at the outset are to include “Green Building” construction, water quality protection, resource conservation, and wildlife habitat creation and preservation. Implementation of these efforts is