Addressing Safety in Our Parks

Last night, the Savage City Council approved reinstalling the basketball hoops at River Bend Park. The hoops will be up by the end of the week. This decision was made in conjunction with other recommendations that our Community Equity Commission, Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission, and staff agree will help improve safety at this park and all parks in our community. These recommendations include continuing extra police patrol, adding fencing and lighting to specific areas, reviewing traffic calming options on Joppa, and adding programming and recreational amenities like a community garden that will increase general park activity. We know this has been a long process. Throughout this process, we heard how important this park is. We heard how important the basketball courts are. And we heard that you want River Bend Park to remain a neighborhood park.

See the River Bend Park Recommendation PPT.

The community input as described in the plan is now complete. Staff summarized what was heard into a DRAFT River Bend Park Community Engagement Report. Over the weeks, this draft will be presented to:

• Community Equity Commission on July 13 & 19
• Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission on July 24
• City Council on Aug 7

Now that the 3 community forums are complete, staff is collecting and summarizing the notes. A DRAFT engagement report will be presented to the Community Equity Commission on Thursday, July 13. The draft does not include all input received yet.

On July 11 the third and final forum was held at Winfield Townhomes. There were about 35 attendees. Thank you to all who came out to share your ideas!

Rescheduled Community Forum
Out of respect for our Somali American residents who are grieving the deaths of five young women over the weekend, the Addressing Safety in Our Parks Community Forum, originally scheduled at Winfield Townhomes on Wednesday, June 21, is rescheduled for Tuesday, July 11. All are welcome.

NEW DATE: Tuesday, July 11
6:30 -8:30 p.m.

Winfield Townhomes

3950 141^st St.

Unable to attend? Go to Letstalksavage.com to share your ideas and input on how to make our park welcoming and safe for everyone.

The second engagement forum was held on Thursday, June 15 in the evening at River Bend Park. There were 108 attendees! Thanks to everyone who came out to the park.

The first of three forums was held on Thursday, June 15 at 1- 3pm. The location was moved from River Bend Park to the O'Connell Fire Station down the road due to the air quality alert. There were 51 attendees. Thank you to everyone who stopped by!

Come share your concerns and ideas on making our park welcoming and safe for everyone.

Thursday, June 15
1-3 p.m.
River Bend Park - Moved to O'Connell Fire Station
14321 O'Connell Rd

Thursday, June 15
6:30-8:30 p.m.
River Bend Park
14347 Joppa Ave. South

Wednesday, June 21
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Winfield Townhomes
3950 141st St.

All are welcome! Bring your lawn chairs. Light snacks provided.

Welcome! This page contains updates regarding the River Bend Park community engagement plan. Please follow along as the plan is implemented and solutions are presented to the City Council.