QuickTake:
The Willamalane district received nearly $700,000 in grants to help fund the project to redevelop park near 34th and E streets. Construction is expected to happen next summer and fall.
After nearly two years of collecting community input and discussing designs with the city, Willamalane Park and Recreation District unveiled a proposed final plan for Tyson Park in north-central Springfield.
The district plans to start construction in summer 2026, Willamalane landscape architect Simon Daws said during a Dec. 16 virtual neighborhood meeting. Staff expect construction will be done in the fall.
“Hopefully by this time next year we’ll be looking at a complete park, and everybody will be out there from the neighborhood enjoying it,” Daws said.
Willamalane spokesperson Whitney Hoshaw said park closures during construction will be dependent on weather and contractors.
“As summer approaches, we will have a better idea of timeline and if some of the park can remain open during construction,” she wrote in an email to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
The planned updates
Daws said the playground is about 30 years old and needs replacing, as do some of the park’s other facilities. The proposed design calls for the new playground to have two play structures, one for kids ages 5-12 and a smaller one for younger children, as well as spinners, rockers and swings.
Willamalane also plans to reconstruct the basketball court and install new hoops, and add a new picnic shelter. The park previously had a picnic shelter, but officials removed it a couple of years ago after it was determined to be structurally unstable, Daws said.
The district plans to replace trees that were lost during the 2024 ice storm and install a wood-chip jogging path encircling the park. An open green space will include two soccer goals.
The proposal also calls for a community garden at the park with space for about 45 plots.
“There is quite high demand for community garden space within Springfield, so we’re hoping to meet that need at this location,” Daws said.
A concept design for planned updates at Tyson Park in Springfield. Credit: Courtesy of Willamalane Park and Recreation District
He said the process to seek public comment started in early 2024, with public meetings and online surveys to determine park improvements desired by neighbors. The four-acre park is abutted by E Street on the north, with 34th and 35th streets ending at the park on the south.
After Willamalane submitted land use applications for the park, the city of Springfield asked the district to update the park with emergency access routes to the neighborhood, Daws said. The proposal calls for 10-foot-wide concrete routes through the park that meet up with 34th and 35th streets.
Those routes, which will be blocked by bollards to prevent nonemergency traffic, will have 5 feet of reinforced turf on each side to allow for a stable surface that could support a fire truck during an emergency. Officials will be able to unlock and fold down the bollards to allow a vehicle to pass over them.
“What you’ll see effectively in the park is a 10-foot wide sidewalk,” Daws said.
The budget
The construction estimate is $1.05 million. Willamalane received $345,000 from the state’s Local Government Grant Program and a federal Thriving Communities grant for $350,000. The district also plans to use $345,000 in system development charges, which are fees developers pay to fund public infrastructure improvements that are necessary as a result of new development.
Daws said the construction estimate was made prior to the addition of the emergency access routes, which will require excavation and concrete foundations.
“We’re still hoping to do all of the elements shown in the final site plan there, but there could be some elements that might need to come in a future phase if the construction bids end up exceeding the budget,” he said.
Hoshaw said some items may need to be phased or removed as the budget requires.
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