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ALABAMA STATE PORT
AUTHORITY LAUNCHES PUBLIC ACCESS PROGRAM
The Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA) is proceeding on
engineering design contracts that will result in a newly created public
park on the western shore of Mobile Bay. The Authority’s public access
design firm, Spectrum and Associates, LLC, will lead a team of
professional disciplines to develop a Public Access Master Plan near
Arlington Point adjacent to the U.S. Coast Guard facility at Brookley.
A key component of
the Public Access Master Plan is the Authority’s requirement to involve
the general public and key stakeholders in the development of the design
concept. The public participation component of the project was crafted
during the Choctaw Point Draft Environmental Impact Assessment
process in response to expressed public interest to create a western
shore bay front park. The Spectrum proposal was selected by Authority
management, in part, due to the firm’s public approach to developing the
design. The Public Access Team will inventory the site, develop citizen
charrettes or community/neighborhood workshops focused on identifying
park concepts, and present the Final Master Plan to the general public.
The team also envisions public participants to play a key role in the
naming of the park.
The first of the
public meetings will be held on Tuesday, February 22nd at
5:30 p.m. at the Ft. Whiting Armory Building at Brookley. The public is
encouraged to attend the session.
The Port Authority,
in partnership with the Mobile Airport Authority, identified the area as
a potential park and wetlands mitigation site primarily due to the
site’s open vistas of Mobile Bay. The proposed upland portion of the
park is a non-required component of the Authority’s obligation to
mitigate for wetland impacts associated with its proposed Choctaw Point
container and intermodal terminal project. The proposed 47-acre Public
Access Park will be comprised of 22.3 acres of park uplands and 24.7
acres of wetlands.
The proposed park
site holds additional benefit as there may be adjacent lands available
for expansion. The area is currently held by numerous public entities,
including the U.S. Government. The Authority believes there is
additional opportunity to expand the park’s boundary pending the
community’s successful acquisition of the property.
The Spectrum team
consists of Frederick Rux, a Landscape Architect, whose portfolio
includes waterfront projects such as Cooper Riverside Park, Mobile, AL;
The Point Park, Pascagoula, MS; Terry Cove Village, Orange Beach, AL;
and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. TriCor, a full service public
relations agency in Mobile, will coordinate public involvement
services. Dorsey & Dorsey Engineering, Inc., who provided civil works
at the Mobile Landing project, will serve as project’s civil engineering
consultant. Kellogg Brown & Root’s (KBR) participation will provide
transportation engineering, environmental coordination and support
services in civil and electrical engineering,
and public involvement. Spectrum & Associates, a minority owned
professional corporation, provides site, building and project planning
oversight. |
