• Friendship Park

    Logan Simpson’s landscape architecture design professionals believe that best results are achieved when the entire project team collaborates. As the prime design consultant for the City of Avondale, Logan Simpson worked closely with the city and residents. We identified and responded to the city’s and residents’ goals for enhancement of the 75-acre Friendship Park. With a construction budget of $2.5 million, Logan Simpson prepared the design through bid/construction document services. Site improvements included new entry access and additional parking improvements with wayfinding signage, one new restroom facility and renovations to existing restroom facilities, athletic field lighting and fencing, picnic and BBQ areas with shade structures, and overall new site furnishings, landscape, and irrigation. To maximize children’s experiences and celebrate play, our landscape architecture team incorporated  a multicolored, flow-through splash pad with 16 spray toys. The splash pad is protected by a large shade sail. As directed by the City, Logan Simpson collaborated with local high school students to theme the entire splash pad and to enhance the splash pad’s entry with LithoMosaic tiles. In 2016, the National Public Works Association awarded Friendship Park its prestigious National Public Works Project of the Year Award in the Structures Less than $5 Million category. For more information on Friendship Park, visit the City of Avondale’s website or read this Arizona Central article that describes some of the park’s new features.

  • Surprise Farms Community Park Phase II

    Logan Simpson provided landscape architecture design services on this $5 million park, in Surprise, Arizona, which won the 2016 Public Works Association’s National Public Works Project of the Year Award in the Structures Less Than $5 Million category. The park is being developed in three phases. In Phase I, Logan Simpson provided conceptual alternatives analysis and design development, culminating in delivery of  30 percent schematic plans for the park’s three phases.  Phase I included access and parking improvements, a new picnic area and dog park, and fencing, lighting, and irrigation improvements to athletic fields. In Phase II, Logan Simpson provided landscape architecture services as a member of a design-build team. It was important to the City that Phase II foster a physical climate that engaged the needs of its residents. Amenities include a skate park, a splash pad, playgrounds, a basketball court, softball fields, shade structures with tables and BBQ grills, open multipurpose lawn areas, a restroom building, and a dog park. In addition to serving the needs of local neighborhood residents, Surprise Farms Community Park will provide a venue for revenue-generating community events such as soccer tournaments, movies, concerts, and fairs. For more information on Surprise Farms Community Park, visit the City of Surprise website.

     

  • Desert Arroyo Park

    Designed with the twin goals of sustainability and preservation in mind, the 58-acre Desert Arroyo Park showcases its native desert upland and mountain surroundings through sensitive landscape architecture. The park’s careful landscape architecture design and site programming respect the natural setting, creating a dynamic relationship between the park’s natural and built elements.

    Four educational nodes focus on Sonoran Desert bugs, birds, mammals, and reptiles.  A fifth node provides a large gathering area and nature-themed play structure. WiFi access and an outdoor classroom encourage learning and exploration.

    Located next to an elementary school, Desert Arroyo was developed with student input. Members of a student focus group had a chance to be landscape architecture designers. Each student designed their own playground and presented it to the Logan Simpson Design team. Students walked the park site with designers to get a sense of how their designs might look in place. They even had their handprints set in concrete during construction. As a result of this involvement, students developed a strong sense of pride in the park. The City of Mesa’s commitment to sustainability and preservation guided the Desert Arroyo Park’s development. The landscape architecture design dedicates 70 percent of the site to preserving the natural landscape. Logan Simpson’s landscape architecture design team performed extensive site analyses at the Desert Arroyo Park site to catalogue specimen plant life, areas of high animal concentration, and locations that offered the greatest opportunities for learning. Trails optimized views and allowed existing saguaro and barrel cacti and desert trees to be left in place. Natural washes that collect rainfall and provide wildlife corridors were preserved and enhanced.

    Green infrastructure techniques were used to support natural vegetation and habitats. One of these techniques, low-impact development (LID), helps manage stormwater on site—helping make precious rainwater available to the park’s plants and animals. LID also helps reduce pollutants that would otherwise go into the city’s stormwater system. The project won the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association Outstanding Facility Award for Populations over 100,000; the Arizona Forward Crescordia Award for environmental excellence; and the American Society for Landscape Architecture Award of Excellence.
    City of Mesa resources to help visitors enjoy the park include a Children’s Discovery Guide, a Flora Discovery Guide , and a Fauna Discovery Guide. More information is available on the City of Mesa’s website.

  • Canyon Lake Main Channel Maintenance Activities

    The Salt River Project of Arizona proposed lowering the water level of Canyon Lake to conduct inspections and maintenance of structures, equipment, and hydroelectric facilities within the reservoir. Logan Simpson’s Clean Water Act permitting specialists prepared a CWA Section 404 individual permit and biological evaluation to allow dredging of approximately two miles of the Salt River bottom to remove sediment and debris that had built up in the Salt River channel and at water recycling intake structures. The dredging was timed to coincide with the lowering of the Canyon Lake water surface to allow routine maintenance of the Horse Mesa Dam. Logan Simpson conducted bald eagle surveys and coordinated with the USFWS and Tonto National Forest on potential impacts to threatened, endangered, and sensitive species of plants and wildlife. We also prepared conservation strategies and mitigation measures that were accepted by the USFWS and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

  • Erosion Control/Clean Water Act Training

    As Arizona environmental consultants, Logan Simpson delivers statewide erosion control training on behalf of the Arizona and Nevada Departments of Transportation in conjunction with the Arizona and Nevada chapters of the Associated General Contractors. Training allows individuals to become credentialed to conduct erosion control activities on behalf of the agency. Curriculum includes CWA regulations; permitting; inspection; construction site controls and practices; creation/upkeep of permit-required documents such as stormwater pollution prevention plans and monitoring plans; and conditions of CWA permits. Logan Simpson developed the curriculum, teaching materials, tests, and handouts and delivered the training for both agencies. Successful completion of the Arizona training allows construction companies and individuals to be certified as erosion control coordinators for ADOT projects. Successful completion of the Nevada training certifies individuals as water pollution control managers on NDOT projects.

  • Town of Jackson/Teton County Planning Services

    Logan Simpson is working with the Town of Jackson and Teton County on the Growth Management Program (GMP) Review and an update to the forward-thinking 2012 Comprehensive Plan, previously completed by Logan Simpson staff Bruce Meighen and Megan Moore. The area is located on the edge of Yellowstone and includes the Town of Jackson and many smaller communities. The GMP Review is an in-depth statistical and community-based check-in on how the plan has been functioning over the last seven years and allows the team to systematically revise the plan through the identification of corrective actions necessary to better implement its vision.

    For this update, tasks have included an overall audit of the plan, using a three-tiered priority rating system based on seven years of indicator data, trend analysis, and an outreach campaign to understand the community’s perception. Looking back, the Plan shifted growth from rural areas into complete neighborhoods (over 60% into complete neighborhoods) and resulted in thousands of units of new workforce housing (over 65% of people who work in Jackson/Teton live there). Our work developing the Character Districts, Code, and Housing Action Plan has ensured growth is directed to the correct places. Fundamental changes to the Plan will be a limit on greenhouse gases, no new single-occupancy lane miles constructed, and an environmental keystone indicator.

    The Jackson/Teton County plan has won multiple awards, including the 2013 Western Planning Association Rural Innovation Award, the 2012 APA Idaho Public Outreach Award, and the 2012 Wyoming Planning Association Urban Planning Project of the Year. Read the plan here.

     

    Click to access vision-winter-park-2016-07-11.pdf

  • La Vista Comprehensive Plan Update

    Logan Simpson is the community planning firm leading the comprehensive plan update for La Vista, Nebraska, focusing on enhancing the city’s long-term vitality. Growth and broader community and economic dynamics have changed since its last comprehensive planning effort, and the City anticipates progressive changes in the creation of a downtown, expansion and enhancement of commercial areas, and an analysis of recreational amenities. The update builds on La Vista’s strengths, such as high growth rates, an attractive location at the crossroads of major roadways like Interstate 80, high-quality housing, availability of land, and key employers like PayPal, Cabela’s, and Yahoo. Logan Simpson used a mix of public involvement techniques, including a project website; social media; online questionnaires; face-to-face interviews; focus and advisory groups; open houses; and workshops; and community events to gather input from the public and stakeholders as we developed the plan. Visioning activities helped community residents and stakeholders convey their values and vision for La Vista.

  • Middle Bald Mountain EIS

    Logan Simpson’s environmental planning team prepared the EIS for a public-safety radio communications site at Middle Bald Mountain, on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Larimer County, Colorado. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office proposed to construct and operate a government-only public-safety radio communications facility on Middle Bald Mountain for both VHF and 800-megahertz communications. The proposed action would construct an approximately 70-foot high, 3-legged steel lattice tower and equipment building, an access road, and approximately two miles of powerline. This controversial, politically charged NEPA project had a long history prior to Logan Simpson’s involvement and had become bogged down. Technical studies and resource reports were prepared during previous phases, adding complexity to the gathering and use of resource data. Logan Simpson assessed the adequacy and continued relevance of previous technical reports and studies and made recommendations for addressing data gaps. Skilled management of the public involvement process was the key to getting the project back on track. To engage the public at open houses, Logan Simpson created interactive display boards to accept comments on issues, questions, and design options, and also operated an interactive Google Earth station to facilitate receipt of site-specific comments from meeting participants.

  • SR 347/Union Pacific Railroad Overpass EA

    Logan Simpson’s Arizona environmental planning team prepared an environmental assessment for a grade-separated crossing over the Union Pacific Railroad. SR 347 is a north-south roadway that crosses the Union Pacific Railroad in the center of the City of Maricopa. When trains pass through the city, traffic on SR 347 is stopped. The nearest alternative crossings require several miles of out-of-direction travel to reach. About 34,000 vehicles a day using SR 347 compete with the 60 trains a day traveling the Union Pacific. With growth in the area anticipated to continue, resolving congestion and train-caused traffic delays has become a high priority for the City of Maricopa, the Arizona Department of Transportation, and regional transportation officials. Ten build alternatives were evaluated and a preferred alternative was selected. The Arizona environmental planning project will require the acquisition of several properties, the relocation of the existing Amtrak station, and will include local roadway realignments and modifications. The project involved extensive public outreach meetings and continual agency coordination. The primary concerns raised by the community centered around the potential acquisition and access impacts to businesses, rerouting traffic to roads that are already congested particularly during peak hours, increased noise levels, the effects to community facilities, and the project’s accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians.

  • The Wallace Desert Gardens at Boyce Thompson Arboretum

    Arizona environmental planning firm Logan Simpson prepared a trails master plan for the 392-acre Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) state park and research institution. The plan features six miles of trails that link major exhibits such as the Cactus Garden, palm and eucalyptus groves, and the Landscape Demonstration Garden. Additional trails allow visitors to explore places like the colorful and interactive Children’s Garden. Natural Sonoran Desert habitat can be experienced from the High Trail. The master plan lays out future trails to provide visitors access to the Picket Post House, Colonel Boyce Thompson’s mansion, as well as rugged canyons and lush riparian areas along the creek. A significant element of the trails master plan is the new Wallace Desert Gardens Exhibit, which will contain more than 6,000 cacti and other desert plants recently acquired from Henry B. Wallace’s private collection. Logan Simpson’s landscape architecture design staff developed the conceptual plan for the 13-acre Wallace Exhibit, set among the dramatic rock formations of an undeveloped area in the southwest portion of the Arboretum. Notable among the thousands of Wallace plants are 200 types of aloes, boojum trees, agaves, and ephedra. A research campus featuring greenhouses, shaded growing areas, housing for visiting scientists, and a library and offices for the BTA horticulture staff will be associated with the Wallace Garden. In developing the Wallace Exhibit conceptual plan, Logan Simpson created five photorealistic simulations of featured areas.