Arkansas Master Naturalists

Dear CAMN members:

 

Last night (12/3/25) Sasaki consulting presented their Master Plan for the 30 Crossing Park

for downtown Little Rock. I did not hear the presentation because I was at an AWS meeting.

However, several other CAMN members were there and sent me their notes. I have
thanked them a lot!

 

I did get to the presentation just as it ended and was able to meet and talk with the
landscape architect(Tanner Weeks) whose firm will design the plantings in the park.
We spoke primarily about the area south of the CALS Main Library—he apparently totally
agrees with us that native plants are the way to go!

 

If you would like to see the presentation materials, go to:

https://downtownlittlerockmasterplan.engage.sasaki.com/

 

The next step MIGHT be a presentation of the library’s plan for the greenspace
south of 2^nd St, across from the library. Nate Coulter wants to present a resolution to begin fundraising
for developmentof this space to the LR Board of Directors. The resolution has been approved
by the city attorney,

but there may be a snag caused by some needed approvals from the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

The next board meeting will be on December 16. However, we will not know if it will be discussed

at that meeting until after the agenda meeting on December 9. 

 

So, I ask that you avoid other commitments on the evening of December 16 for now.

If this item is on the agenda for December 16, I will let you know.
If you support the developmentof this greenspace, I urge you to attend the BoD meeting

(they start at 6 pm in City Hall, at 500 Markham St).

 

Public support for a position can sway Directors’ votes. I have seen it happen!

 

Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Janet Lanza, jxlanza@ualr.edu; 501-960-3739

 

Notes from 3 CAMN members:

 

Member #1

CALS Sakari presentation at Main Library Wednesday 12/03/2025

City to lease 18 acres from ARDOT ?lease drafted yet?

ARA American Rescue Acts fund for $750,000 design

Chris to introduce Tanner Weeks landscape architect ? EDG?

Daniel church both urban planner Sakari + Downtown Partnership

2023-24 Downtown Master Plan identified 30 Crossing project that would/could accomplish

about half of what was proposed in the Downtown Master Plan

Always remains ARDOT land restricted to public land so what can be its highest & best use?

This Sakari plan is focused on Third Street north to the River – NOT the “Deck Park”

Chris says ARDOT will retain a 30 foot easement both sides of the bridge

Chris says LR City parks say they can maintain trash, mowing, blowing but NOT the water features

like a splash pad

(Aside) The only City officials I saw in attendance were Leland Couch,
Director of City Parks & Recreation and Board Director Virgil Miller

ARDOT to review plans followed by discussion January February 2026 and then the regulatory review will begin

AMR Architects will play some role?

Chris tasked with park design “best & highest use” w/in the regulatory framework that exists

Cultural Trail from Historic Arkansas Museum (HAM) to Clinton Presidential Library

Would realign the existing Arkansas River Trail within the 30 crossing boundaries

Connectors would also touch on the planned Southwest Trail

Somewhere near Second St. & Cumberland will be parking dedicated for school buses to access HAM,

Museum of Discovery, CALS, etc.

HAM may have an opportunity to be an “active curator”

Sakari design calls Nate’s Space “The Panhandle” a civic greenway

Learned from public surveys must provide more SHADE features!

As the design crosses Sherman Street there are more larger spaces to work with

(Aside)  one slide on the topography, geology and ecoregions had a representation of an

Eastern Red Cedar!?

Design proposes to clean the water trapped and retained in the Bill Clark wetlands area +

perhaps adding bald cypress as a keystone species

Museum of Discovery ?outdoor space to connect to Clinton Library?

Proposing the North segment of Sherman be downsized to one lane so parents can snack and drink

nearby within eyesight of their children playing nearby; goal is to keep families downtown all day

Along the Northeast lawn AGFC may have an opportunity to “curate” activities and events like archery –

towards the Clinton Library

20 foot elevation drop to Arkansas River will require significant walls be built

If AGFC Witt Stephens Nature Center “curates” the climbing tower it would need the ability

to be gated off & locked

Boathouse renting kayaks, stand up paddleboards, etc., might be private entity operator or city operator

From Clinton Library to Riverfront Park in total encompasses about 100 acres

Mentioned Second Street green corridor + trolley tracks would be too narrow for parking

Rock Street will be an important North-South connector

Ottenheimer Park is the “back door” of downtown and in its current configuration cutting off the public from the Arkansas River

2 options to realign intersection at LaHarpe & Ottenheimer

Chris emphasized the public survey responses noted the need TO DO SOMETHING TODAY – SEE SOMETHING TODAY

 

Member #2

 

The presentation was extensive, and regrets that I can't really summarize the particulars that you were asking for.  A couple of high-level observations and concern were:

• The phased approach starting with Phase 0...I understand that the whole area will be addressed on a gradual basis, largely as funding allows over many years, there will be modest progress throughout the whole area with each phase.  
• I was pleased to hear per a survey of folks' requests, priorities were:1st-shade, 2nd-pollinator gardens ().  
• Funding would be public/private source as expected.  
• The visuals were really uplifting if not a bit over-optimistic.  But the tie in to focus on access via trails, bike paths, pedestrian walkways to the river (as main natural asset) seemed a smart strategy.  There was so much to the presentation; I intend to take a gradual view of the 136 slides over the coming weeks as it provides a bit of a time and energy challenge for me.  But all in all, this vision is quite spectacular...just wonder how  realistic it is.
One concern of mine is the attraction of such a space becoming a magnet for homeless folks, a deterrent to many visiting and enjoying the area.  There was a paragraph in the slide set mentioning the issue and that currently there are some means to address this...I'm thinking of Providence Park which I toured several weeks ago.  Maintenance would also play in as a concern...it is sad to see what once was a great idea, deteriorate for any number of reasons.  I'll put my negativity aside now.

Member #3

 

I didn't take notes on everything, just some things that caught my attention. This is the gist of what I remember:

 

Firstly, the name of the park will be "30 Crossing Park."

(Not to be confused with 30 Deck Park which is located between 6th and 9th Streets.)

 

Great Parks have Great Edges. Edges include ideally museums, shops, restaurants, places of entertainment, hotels, library, places for refreshments, etc. The planners are very cognisant of this, and are hoping that even the early phase of the park development ("Phase 0") will encourage more business entrepreneurship around the edges, thus attracting more visitors to the park. A symbiotic relationship. The edges also need to feel friendly, pleasant, easy to navigate and to make transitions in and out of the park. So there will be wide sidewalks with attractive plantings and plenty of shade, benches, and other places to rest. Lots of trees was a strongly emphasized concept. 

 

Traffic will be managed so that it does not interfere directly with enjoyment of the park. Some streets in the area may be downsized to two lanes in order to convert some of that space to pedestrians or bikes. The planners want to make the park attractive to people on bikes as well as pedestrians, also including wheelchair and stroller accessibility. 

 

They will incorporate several water features, for children to splash in, for pastoral scenes (ponds) with wildlife, for connections to the river and boating. 

 

They talked about a concept of "Rambles to the River," which includes a strong or large East - West path between the Clinton library and CALS main library, as well as a North - South path between the river/Museum of Discovery/Witt Stephens and the Historic Arkansas Museum and East Village, eventually perhaps all the way to the SOMA district. 

 

They spoke about connecting with bike trails, the River Trail, Fourche Creek and the trails being developed that direction. 

 

They envision 30 Crossing Park as a destination park that will attract visitors who want to spend the whole day or weekend there, where there will be something for everyone, with lots of variety and areas of interest. Such as

• areas for basketball, biking, scooters, skateboarding?, etc.
• kids' water play area, playground areas including a swinging bridge and climbing tower
• a hammock forest
• a pollinator garden
• paddleboats? 

When they surveyed the public about what features they would like to see included in the park, the number one response by far was a pollinator garden.

 

They talked about how Little Rock sits at the junction of the Ozark mountains with the Ouachita forests, and with the river delta/gulf coastal plain, so they plan to have separate areas devoted to exploring each of those topographies. They hope for those areas to serve as an extension of and in collaboration with some of our museums, such as Witt Stephens, HAM, and the Discovery Museum. 

 

They described "the Urban Living Room," which would be a large lawn with a large shell at one end, which could be used for a variety of purposes, such as archery practice for scouts in the morning, a picnic at lunchtime, and a music concert in the evening. 

 

They did not include a lot of open spaces in this park because they felt that Little Rock already has a lot of open spaces.

 

They said to note that the overpasses are much higher now than before, and that was intentionally done, to provide a lighter, airier experience below. They said it will still be VERY noisy under the overpasses at peak traffic times, but much better at off-peak times. They hope to reduce some of the road noise by using short fabric curtains hung parallel and close together under the overpasses. The park is all Highway Department / Department of Transportation land, so parking on the street will be free. 

 

They are hoping to start implementing "Phase 0" in the near future.