An expanded garden, a dog park and a new road leading to the boat launch area are among the improvements being considered for the master plan for the Pitchford section of River Forks Park.

Landscape architect Larry Gilbert last week provided the Douglas County Parks Department with conceptual drawings of two possible configurations to guide the agency in future development of the park west of Roseburg.

One of the drawings includes a new road heading west from the park entrance off Old Garden Valley Road toward the boat launch located about a quarter mile downriver from where the North and South Umpqua rivers meet. Construction of a new road would give visitors better access to the Pitchford section and allow them to reach the boat launch without having to take the existing curved route through the rest of the park.

That drawing also includes an enclosed dog park situated near the park entrance and running about halfway toward the boat launch. It provides an expanded garden for the Douglas County Master Gardeners and includes space for new county parks offices and a shop.

The second drawing comes without the added road. It shows the dog park as more of a square rather than the longer and narrower space in the other depiction and shows a large buffer between the Pitchford property and the existing grassy areas used for pickup softball and soccer games in River Forks park. Under that plan, the open space would remain much as it is now. It also includes space for an expanded master garden.

Both plans utilize the existing hall, formerly used by the Pitchford Boys Ranch, as a community center that could be used for meetings, craft shows and other public events.

The two conceptual diagrams were drawn up with the idea that the Pitchford section would remain a passive-use park void of organized sports and other participation events. They include room for natural elements, a play area and open space.

The final plan will incorporate elements from both drawings, said Jim Dowd, the county’s parks director. The secondary road will be included, but it will be moved farther down from the linear dog park and there won’t be a loop along the upper Pitchford section, allowing that space to be better utilized, he said.

The plan will also include some enhancements for the River Forks portion of the park, including the addition of a second pavilion and a bark-covered river walk between the boat launch and east of the beach area.

The plan was developed through a series of public meetings and discussion by members of the Park Advisory Board and Parks Department staff members. Adding the Pitchford section will increase the overall size of River Forks Park from 46 acres to 70.

“We’ve tried to incorporate a little bit of everyone’s ideas,” Dowd said.

The final plan will be unveiled during a Dec. 21 meeting of the Park Advisory Board. The board is scheduled to approve the master plan at that meeting and forward it on for consideration by the county Board of Commissioners in early January.

Dick Swartzlender, a member of the advisory board, said he liked elements from both drawings. Combining the best of those will make for a good plan, he said.

“I think a blend would satisfy me,” he said.

He liked the larger open space area from the second drawing, leaving a portion of the park as it is. That, he said, would provide room for new ideas or uses that might not be contemplated right now but may come up in the future.

The most important thing is to come up with a plan that sets a tone for future development of the park, he said.

“All of these dreams need to have a beginning,” advisory board member Dennis Acton said.

Acton said Gilbert and his associates from the Eugene firm of Cameron McCarthy Gilbert & Scheibe did a good job of hearing people’s desires for the park and incorporating them into the plans.

“I think they’ve been excellent listeners,” Acton said.

The plan won’t cover the financial end of developing the park. Uncertainty over extension of the federal timber safety net, which has provided the county with $50 million over each of the past several years, means there won’t be any extra money floating around to fund park improvements, Dowd and the park board members said.

“We think the county general fund dollars will be limited,” Dowd said.



• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.