Atlanta City Council Member Antonio Brown, Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner John Dargle, Park Pride, The Conservation Fund, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and representatives from the English Avenue community, recently held a ribbon cutting celebration for the long-anticipated English Avenue greenspace, Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park, according to a press release.
English Avenue, situated within the Proctor Creek Watershed, has long suffered from damaging combined sewer overflows related to stormwater runoff, economic disinvestment, social and educational challenges, and lack of greenspace. Since 2009, Park Pride and The Conservation Fund have worked collaboratively with English Avenue neighbors and stakeholders to transform neglected spaces into vibrant public parks that benefit the community, the environment, and the economy.
Through an eight-month, community-directed process facilitated by Park Pride, a park masterplan was created with a community steering committee and the input of hundreds of area residents.
This new community park is part of The Conservation Fund’s national Parks with Purpose program, centered on equitable development ideals. These new parks provide more than just a safe place for kids to play and families to gather; they also provide workforce training and employment for area residents, reduce flooding by capturing and absorbing stormwater, support environmental education opportunities, and even grow healthy food by incorporating edible landscaping.
Several partner organizations played key roles in bringing Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park to fruition, including the City of Atlanta’s Departments of Parks and Recreation and Watershed Management, the City of Atlanta’s Office of Resilience, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, ECO-Action, Community Improvement Association, The Proctor Creek Stewardship Council, Greening Youth Foundation, English Avenue Neighborhood Association, and University Community Development Corporation.
Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park is the third in a series of parks proposed in the Proctor Creek North Avenue Green Infrastructure Vision (Park Pride, 2010) to address stormwater runoff. The park is expected to help manage up to 3.5 million gallons of stormwater per year by capturing runoff from adjacent streets and routing the water into a series of rain gardens, stormwater swales, and underground chambers. These features will clean and detain the stormwater, helping to mitigate combined sewer overflow events and reduce local flooding.
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