Parks and Recreation Director Shannon Coates shared updated plans for the 164-acre park east of Teel Parkway on Feb. 11 during the city’s annual winter work session. A presentation by Coates outlined plans for a facility that will feature 10.7 miles of trails, spotlight nature and aim to be a destination for North Texas cyclists of any skill level.
The construction cost for several future amenities in the park is estimated to be $24.5 million, according to a presentation given during an Oct. 19 work session.
The current, not finalized design for the possible bike tower, which cyclists would scale and ride down, has evolved since council members last discussed it in October. The latest concept art is inspired by locust trees, according to Coates, and features an enclosed structure to bolster safety. Coates added that the bike tower is intended to be a “multiuse” structure that could serve those observing wildlife and bird watchers.
“We thought that a better approach would be to try and fit it into the natural environment as much as we could,” Coates said.
Coates emphasized that renderings shown Feb. 11 are not final and were meant to gather feedback from city officials and the public.
“This isn't exactly what any of this will look like,” Coates said. “We’re going through iterations to get feedback from you all, feedback from the community on design and what everybody likes.”
Mayor Jeff Cheney shared concerns on whether the tower would obstruct views for nearby homeowners or those in the nearby PGA of America headquarters. In addition, he said he wanted to make sure the city was not building “Frisco’s biggest whistle” if wind noisily passing through the tower would be a factor.
Cheney requested a better depiction of how the tower would draw visitors, such as a video. The mayor also suggested potentially delaying the addition of a bike tower as a possible “future phase element.”
“I can’t say that I’m sold, but part of it is that I just don’t understand,” Cheney said. “I’m not quite there yet.”
Council Member Bill Woodard said the most among his peers in support of such a tower at Northwest Community Park.
Woodard, a cyclist himself who hosts the Roll with the Council group ride, said the tower in its current phase of planning is more artistic than comparable structures he has seen.
“It will attract people from all over the metroplex, because there's nothing else like it around,” Woodard said.
