Valley Village Neighborhood Council Discusses Shade Structures for Park

Plans are afoot to provide shade over the childrens play areas and picnic tables in Valley Village Park. The Neighborhood Council of Valley Village met Tuesday evening to discuss the issue, which has attracted both support and opposition.

Discussing the proposal were members of the Council and the community; Ramon Barajas, superintendent of the Valley Region of the city's Department of Recreation and Parks; and Keith Busam of Shade Structures, the company who will be providing the physical structures if the plan is greenlit.

Other improvements to the park have already been approved (on the subject.) There is a budget of $400,000 for park enhancements, including the installation of a granite pathway and benches, as well as maintenance on signage and streetlighting. The funding for the shades will come out of the same budget.

The shade project has proven to be somewhat controversial. While it seems that nobody at the meeting on Tuesday disputed the need to provide shade for children, especially during the summer months, there was no consensus about what form the shade should take.

Barajas noted that in 2010, it was 100 degrees in the Valley for 20 consecutive days. He also said that the parks should be pleasant places for everyone in the community, including children on medication that requires them to stay out of the sun, and those with sunlight allergies.  His aim, he said, was "to make these play areas available to everyone."

Some local residents expressed concern that the proposed shades would not be aesthetically pleasing. 

Jim Covell, who lives on Westpark Drive, said that his windows overlooked the park. He gave a PowerPoint presentation with his suggestions for alternative shade-giving constructs.  Instead of overarching canopies, he said that shades could be attached to the top of children's climbing frames and swings. Covell said that he had submitted a petition against the current shade proposals to the Council with 50 signatures from the community. He was asked at the meeting if parents who used the park were among those who signed, and he replied in the affirmative.

Barajas noted that it might be difficult to add to existing structures without compromising their safety. Busam said that his company had provided similar shade structures in the past and that he would look into this possibility.

Another area of concern raised was that of maintenance of the structures. The canvas covers would most likely need to be replaced every 15 years, and budget funds would have to be found to cover the expense. Busam noted that the canvas was the least expensive part of the structures, and generally accounted for about 10–15 percent of the final price. The structures proposed could cost anywhere between $30,000 and $80,000 each.

According to Busam, the shades block a minimum of 85 percent of all UV light. Busam said that Shade Structures have already completed half a dozen projects in the Valley, and thousands more throughout the state. The company has also constructed structures for Denver International Airport, the 2016 Olympics in Rio and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Busam and Barajas are currently in the process of discussing alternative shade structures. A subcommittee of the Neighborhood Council, headed by Andrew Sacher, will reconvene at the next meeting on April 26 to present a new proposal to the Council and interested residents.