Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Mud Island Input Meeting
Posted by Mary Cashiola on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Tonight is the first of the final two Mud Island public input meetings held by the Riverfront Development Corporation.
I have a feeling that it's going to be packed with skaters and derby girls, so if skate parks don't interest you, or you think they are a really horrible idea for the island, you should go. Or, if you think they're a great idea, you should go. Or, if there's anything you feel strongly about having on Mud Island, be it a museum or a restaurant or whatever, you should go. That's how the process works.
My idea is to keep the park open past 6 p.m. on summer weekends but that's just me. People are always talking about wanting some place to watch the sun set — personally, I think we have plenty such places — but if the park is only open until 6, the sun hasn't set yet.
Here was my last experience at Mud Island. It was a Sunday and one of the prettiest days of the summer — one of those in August that were just unbelievable. Now, like many Memphians, I don't go to Mud Island a lot. So on the rare occasions I do go there, it's the RDC's chance to woo me. Instead my friend and I got chased away by a squawking security guard. She actually shooed us.
And since we were at the Little Gulf of Mexico at the time, we literally could not leave fast enough for her. I mean, it's a five-block walk and I was wearing heels. I wasn't going to break into a jog. But that's what she seemed to want.
Anyway, tonight's meeting is at 5:45 at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. Thursday's meeting is at 5:45 at the Mud Island River park.
Comments (10)
Showing 1-10 of 10
Go to mudisland.com's website if you want a truly up-to-date experience. Har. What a joke.
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I have an idea, but I can't attend the meetings.
Convert the museum to an outdoor mall type environment. Yes, I know, how marvelously original.
However, instead of selling it to some developer, let the city develop it as a sort of small town replica and then offer each retail bay and restaurant location first year's rent free, assignment of bays on a lottery basis for any business or proposed business that can show a financial commitment to opening by a set date. Also develop the upper floors of the retail and restaurant locations for mixed-income apartments and condos.
After the first year, the city charges normal rents or sells the development to a management corporation, with rent control provisions as part of the contract.
Change the name to Liberty Island, move the best parts of Liberyland to it, including street vendors and concessions. Refurbish the amphitheater to make it more conducive to theatre production and movie showings. Convert the bridge to a trolley spur and hook it into the Main Street line.
I have another idea.
Sell it back to the Choctaw Nation for $1 and let them build a casino on it.
A place that sells food and drink at reasonable prices would be just grand. I agree with the Liberty Island idea.... bring on the carousel and some "fair" type of concessions. The name "Mud Island" was never that appealing....
Definitely keep it open later!!! During the summer, early morning and late night is perfect for those of us who don't like to roast in the concrete environment....
I also like the idea of converting the pedestrian part of the bridge into a trolly spur for those of us who don't want to pay as much to ride the monorail. I'd keep one side for pedestrian use though... as it is fun to walk that bridge on cooler days.
The gift shops need a MAJOR time revitalization. Too much high priced "generic" stuff... and not enough to entice families with young children in. Maybe check out the zoo's gift shops and consider the variety in their merchandise. As it is, the one gift shop is just a lot of wasted space! (The Libertyland title would work much better on t-shirts and mugs as well....)
If it would fit, I think a skate park and an actual playground would lure younger people to the park. You would need to have supervision though, in order to make sure the young'uns wouldn't get in trouble... ;o)
Also, the zoo has those special nights during the year where they have parties and gatherings with food, music, drink, and fellowship. Those nights make some big time money for the zoo. Think how wonderful it would be to cover all of those tables in the Gulf Area with tablecloths, some candles/lanterns, and serve refreshments along with some live music. The views would be stellar and I bet a lot of couples would go for it. If you take reservations, you could assess the amount of interest ahead of time! Even small sums add up, so this could be a source of revenue as well as a music venue for local musicians.
They already spruced the Gulf up by replacing all those old, dingy boats with the newer themed ones. I've always loved all the flowers and plantings. The place has so much potential.... I hope something wonderful is done to bring it all out!
While number one shows great initiative and thought, number is two is much more feasible!
I would like to thank the RDC for having this meeting. I am sure that public input will be heard and considered, before it is ignored. Heard it through the grapevine that AKEA is looking to develop it into a mega store retail site complete with a hotel, gift shops, retro-design studio, surgical center, and taco stand.
Zippy, you said what I was thinking. But I thought I would offer some good ideas for them to ignore.
The Mud Island website is a sad insult and makes one wonder what Benny Lendermon does to earn his quarter-million-dollar salary. If only Mud Island could have benefited by relocating ANY of the attractions sold at the Libertyland auction -- at least kids in Memphis could have enjoyed the arcades and kiddie rides that were sold for pennies on the dollar to companies out-of-state. Instead, now Memphis is about to lose valuable infrastructure at the Fairgrounds site as Tom Marshall's firm gets paid taxpayer $$$ to oversee demolition of National Historic Register properties. Meanwhile, most concerts are now across the state line in Mississippi. For shame!
http://savethepippin.com/
Do they not realize that teenagers are not the only people who skate?
Has anyone ever inquired about how much RDC makes off it's parking lots? I'm paying $38 a month to park by the Welcome Center and that lot stays packed.
BTW, I have seen several good concerts this year, and none of them was south of the state line. A couple were at Mud Island.
I've had a little experience with public input meetings in my 20+ years of public advocacy and I've got to say that the RDC has mastered the "dog and pony show".
What we got at the public meeting was a bunch of pretty pictures of totally different types of waterfronts (mostly ones with stable waterlines) including a scenic lake somewhere in Oregon, the canal in San Antonio, TX and the super expensive bridges and ferris wheel in London, England.
We were shown 3 options, from which we were supposed to choose our favorite. Nobody seemed particularly happy with any one of the 3 and thus we will all be forced to write detailed comments, picking out the elements we like from each of the proposals presented.
Despite the fact that the public has soundly rejected the idea of residential development, the RDC/LR&K have kept it in all but one of the "new" refined proposals.
RDC seems bent on developing residential/dining/retail "mixed use" no matter what, drawing numerous comments that developing these services is putting the cart before the horse. There seemed to be consensus amongst those in attendance that public amenities--skatepark, jogging trails, aquarium, improved music venue, enhanced Riverwalk--should be the first focused step and that the private enterprise portion should follow on the demand created by traffic.
2 of the proposals included foot bridges across the Wolf at the southern tip of the island and vast majority in attendance supported this.
One plan suggested extending Poplar onto the island and this was roundly rejected. This same proposal also suggested very expensive fill of the harbor and intensive retail/residential development.
2 things were absolutely clear: the public wants more recreational amenities and better access via a pedestrian/bike bridge at the south end of the island. In short, those in attendance want a place to play with their families--food and drink will follow the bodies of their own accord.
And, yes, we want a skatepark.
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