Mimosa Pocket Park Pilot
Turn a piece of pavement into a neighborhood asset while making the street safer.
Leader
Lauren Giovannetti
Location
Mimosa Street Memphis, TN 38111
About the project
High Point Terrace is one of the best neighborhoods in Memphis and the entire country! Let's compliment the Greenline, Shopping Center, and growing population of young families with a new concept: a pocket park!
One day some neighbors in High Point Terrace were lamenting the lack of amenities for their children, the cut-through traffic, and the crime that is attracted to having such an easy exit onto Highland and Sam Cooper. I wish we could have one solution to all three issues, they said..... and the pocket park idea was born. The City of Memphis agreed to try a pilot at Mimosa. If successful, the pocket park could become permanent. This pilot project would be phase one and easy to dismantle if not supported by the neighborhood. Phase two would be a more elaborate pocket park, featuring more permanent park features.
The Steps
1. Collect signatures in support of at least 75% of the addresses in the right of way. DONE
2. Get approval for a six-month street restriction from the Memphis City Council. DONE
3. Raise the funds for the project. DONE
4. Hire a designer to produce plan to be signed off on my Memphis Engineering, Memphis Fire, and Public Art Commission
5. Purchase elements for the park
6. Install elements for the park. Hire artist to paint pavement park elements.
7. ENJOY! Collect feedback on project success.
Why we‘re doing it
High Point Terrace is one of the best neighborhoods in all of Memphis. It has the quaint shopping center, Greenline, and a great mix of longtime residents and young families. Every year, more and more children are being born and moving into the neighborhood. Sadly, there are no parks that are available to walk to. There is also no space to put a typical park. A pocket park would be a great asset.
Furthermore, the homes closest to Highland in the High Point Neighborhood continue to be targets for porch pirates, car break-ins, car theft, and occasionally some more serious crime issues. The east-west streets also serve as a cut-through to traffic trying to avoid the lights at Walnut Grove and at the Greenline. Restricting access to vehicles entering the neighborhood from Highland is hypothesized to reduce these problems.
The neighbors behind this project are dreaming of a safer neighborhood for our children. A neighborhood where the kids all know each other because there is a safe place to play.