A Four-Project Approach
Addressing flood protection and enhancing neighborhood amenities in Denver
By Allegra “Happy” Haynes
Over the last several decades, neighborhoods in north Denver have experienced numerous flooding events, causing damage to properties and infrastructure, due to an inadequate drainage system. These neighborhoods are located within the Montclair Basin, an approximately nine-square-mile area that lacks a clear path for water to drain into the South Platte River. In 2015, the city and county of Denver Parks and Recreation and Public Works found a solution, ultimately known as the Platte to Park Hill: Stormwater Systems program. While Platte to Park Hill was initiated as a storm-protection program, the city quickly realized an opportunity to revitalize park space and increase connectivity among neighborhoods.
Photo: Rocky Mountain Photo
Given the large size of the program and the need for a robust community-outreach plan, multiple agencies leveraged their resources. While city departments typically manage projects independently of one another, Platte to Park Hill required agencies to communicate, coordinate, and accommodate different perspectives and priorities. To guide all decision-making during the program, city teams established early goals of providing critical flood protection, improving water quality, increasing neighborhood connectivity, enhancing public spaces, and upgrading existing infrastructure with green elements.
The program is comprised of four separate projects, which upon completion, will create new detention areas at two local golf courses—city-owned City Park Golf Course and privately owned Park Hill Golf Course—a linear greenway, and open channel along 39th Avenue, and an enlarged outfall that feeds into the South Platte River at Globeville Landing Park. The final stop for water is the Montclair Basin. Though these projects could have been completed separately to solve drainage issues, a combined effort creates a more capable system that also serves as an amenity for the surrounding neighborhoods.
Community Outreach
With each of the four projects taking place within different neighborhoods, a two-way, community-outreach process was executed through the entire program. During the planning phases, time was spent educating the community about the benefits of green infrastructure and flood protection and gathering input on design elements.
The city sought feedback from more than 1,700 community members via 250+ meetings, including numerous stakeholder working groups and large public meetings. Key themes that emerged included concern about the impact to private properties, a strong interest for increased connectivity among neighborhoods, a desire for places to gather and play, the importance of respecting culturally significant places, and the importance of improved water quality. Later engagement focused on project and construction updates.
Project 1: Redesigning City Park Golf Course
City Park, an 18-hole course, was selected for a stormwater-detention basin due to its centralized location within the Montclair Basin, which presented an opportunity to revitalize a beloved golf course. Courses are common hosts for detention basins because the feature can easily be integrated into the course and adds to its playability by creating water hazards.
Redesign of the course sought to improve playability and retain the traditional Parkland style through landscape features that also improved flood protection and water quality. The city relocated and modernized clubhouse facilities with sustainable and energy-efficient materials that complement the natural landscape and emphasize the downtown skyline. The multi-use clubhouse will also host a local golf-education program and restaurant, and be available for public and private events.
Community input drove inclusion of a full-size, 300-yard driving range, new sidewalks, a park-like space throughout the course, a healthy reforestation plan in line with the city’s forestry guidelines, and the incorporation of sustainable design and construction throughout the project site.
Project 2: 39th Avenue Greenway And Open Channel
The 39th Avenue Greenway is an approximately 4,800-foot-long linear channel designed to intercept floodwaters not detained by City Park Golf Course. While relatively modest in size at its eastern end, the channel becomes larger as it extends westward to accommodate higher water volumes. A key challenge with this project was its location in a tight urban corridor, with businesses and residences surrounding the two-mile-long project site. Denver Public Works and Parks and Recreation worked together to combine flood-protection and water-quality elements with green infrastructure that will provide the community with added protection and new, everyday amenities.
Greenways and open channels are common solutions for flood protection because of the wide space they provide between river banks and the flood system, allowing water to pass through with less impact on the river. Natural vegetation and over 50 street-side stormwater-quality planters were installed to collect and filter water through various layers of vegetation and soils.
A biking and walking trail runs through the greenway, complemented by multifunctional plazas for small and large gatherings. The area will also feature Denver’s first shared street, an urban-design concept where road barriers and typical demarcations are removed to create a street shared by drivers, pedestrians, and bikers. Additional amenities include a new amphitheater with drainage capabilities, a community garden, and enhanced lighting throughout the corridor. Several pedestrian and vehicular bridges will connect the neighborhoods.
Photo: Design by Architerra Group; Rendering by Livable Cities Studio, Inc.
Project 3: Globeville Landing Outfall
The final stop for water flows in the Montclair Basin before reaching the South Platte River is at Globeville Landing Park. The city converted areas of the park into an outfall with a capacity to slow 3,750-cubic-feet of water per second before it reaches the river. The area will serve as a habitat for wildlife and ecosystem restoration while improving overall water quality through a UV vault that treats low-flow stormwater before discharging it into the South Platte River.
When planning for the park upgrades, the city collected feedback at several public meetings, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups. The result is an enlarged park with grassy areas for sports and recreation, multiple bike and pedestrian trails, outdoor seating and gathering areas for families, easier access to the river, and added play equipment for kids.
Project 4: Park Hill Golf Course
Lastly, the city is adding additional drainage benefits to support the region in the nearby Park Hill Basin via a new detention area at Park Hill Golf Course. A pipeline is currently under construction that will connect the existing Holly Pond detention basin, which is too small to accommodate runoff from storms, to the new detention system at the course.
Globeville Landing Outfall is now complete, with the remaining components of the Platte to Park Hill: Stormwater Systems program underway and expected to reach completion in 2020. The program is an example of innovation in using new green infrastructure to improve water quality and protect against flooding, while adding numerous other benefits to Denver communities, including a completely renovated park and golf course, along with enhanced connectivity, safety, and 12 acres of new park, trails, and recreational amenities.
Allegra “Happy” Haynes is Executive Director of Denver Parks & Recreation and a member of the Mayor’s Cabinet. She is responsible for leading a broad range of programs, services, facilities, and park amenities for the city. In August 2019, Haynes was appointed by Mayor Michael Hancock to serve as Deputy Mayor for the City and County of Denver. In November 2015, she was re-elected to a second term on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. During a career in local government spanning 36 years, Happy served 13 years on the Denver City Council from 1990 to 2003 and was President from 1998 to 2000. She currently chairs the Colorado Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land and serves on the boards of KUVO/Rocky Mountain PBS, Denver Zoo, and Denver Museum of Nature and Science.