Sioux Falls, SD
A proposed whitewater park in Sioux Falls South Dakota could help the city grow and be known for this great achievement.
The proposed project is estimated to cost less than 1 million dollars to construct and have a 30-year life. Policymakers would be justified in making this investment with public funds as the break-even return to local businesses would be realized within years after construction.
The economic benefit of this project can be conservatively estimated to return approximately 100-500 thousand dollars of private sector economic activity to the local economy each year during the life of the project.
Designers will not declare a site right now. The best thing to do is get them on the ground and look at a variety of viable sites. From this investigation they can determine where it is that they can create a park with the most economic and recreational impact and the least amount of negative impacts.
- Legacy Park
- Parking already available
- .59 - .7 miles
- In-channel
- Skunk Creek
- No obstructions in Creek
- Viewable from banks
- Dunham Park
- Parking already available
- .58 miles
- In-channel
- Skunk Creek
- No obstructions in creek
- Viewable from banks
- Legacy Park to Dunham Park
- Parking already available on both ends
- 1.5 – 2.0 miles
- In-channel
- Skunk Creek
- No obstructions in creek
- Viewable from banks
- Down Stream Falls Park
- Parking already available
- .7 – 1.2 miles
- In-channel
- Big Sioux River
- Possible low head dam removal needed
- Viewable from banks
- Big Sioux
- Location may change after site visit
- Viewable from banks
- Uses
- Areas would be safe enough for tubing
- Less expensive to enjoy the rapids
- Rafting
- Riverboarding
- Paddle Boarding
- Fishing
- Rapids provide more oxygen in water which fish need to survive
- Eddies between the rapids make pools of water for fish to be located
- Training
- Water rescue training
- Boy Scout badges
- Kayak/Canoe safety
- Viewing
- The view of whitewater can be relaxing
- Sound of the whitewater can be relaxing
- Picnic tables to enjoy the whitewater park users
- Events and Water Quality
- Freestyle events
- Slalom events
- Races
- Soapbox boat races
- Improves water quality by getting more oxygen levels in water
- Waterway cleanups for river and river banks
- Gets people of all ages involved in the environment and water sports
- Difficulty
The course would contain small ripples for the tubers all the way to class IV rapids for the more skilled paddler.
(On a scale of I to VI; one being a river with small ripples, six being a waterfall)
- Water Rescue can train in rapids
- Pool sessions held by SDCKA for safety training
- Boy Scouts do whitewater safety training for badges
- Flooding
- Designs has a FEMA no-rise restrictions
- Designs go through USACE 404 process in order to determine impacts of the project
- Designs work within the rivers existing morphology
- Designers do studies to ensure that it is possible in light of constraint associated with the river, region, and permitting authorities
- Studies will be completed with a site visit and conceptual design study
Injuries have not been recorded and courts have ruled that cities would not be liable if there were
- Cost
- S2O $13,800.00 (Proposal attached)
- REP $14,000.00 (estimated)(Proposal must be requested by City Parks & Recreation)
- Includes site visit
- Meeting with city, stakeholders, investors, and SDCKA
- Analysis on river
- Design of park
- Estimated construction cost
- Both companies would work within budget
- Building and Constructing Whitewater Park
- Will know more after site visit with chosen designer group and they prepare plan, design, and cost proposal.
- Low End $100,000.00
- High End $750,000.00
- Funding
- Donations
- Friends
- Family
- Kayakers/Canoeist
- Local Business’s (Manta reports 17,052 companies in Sioux Falls)
- Surrounding city business’s (example: Grand Falls Casino Resort)
- Raffles (needs to fill out application 30 days before raffle begins)
- Kayak/Canoes
- Paddling Gear
- Apparel
- Fundraising
- Events
- Sportsman Show
- Design kayak/canoe magazine and sell for fundraising
- Silent auction on donated items
- Private Investors
- Individual person
- Local Companies
- Kayak/Canoe companies
- Grants
- Land and Water conservation Fund Grant
- Community Development Block Grant Program
- Recreational Trails Program (RTP)
- Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)
- Advertising
- Can sell advance sponsor spots on whitewater parks web page
- Possible to get sponsor name on sign for the whitewater park
- Government
- State
- County
- City
Major events can draw thousands of people, and while total economic impact is hard to estimate, it could easily be millions annually.
Whitewater parks are often viewed as exclusive amusement for a few, but perhaps 90 percent of users aren’t boaters. The vast majority of people who enjoy such parks do so by watching from the shore, or walking and biking nearby.
Whitewater paddlers contribute a significant amount of money to local economies. Through spending money on gas, food, lodging and other items paddlers provide revenue to rural communities. This side effect of whitewater recreation is typically welcomed in these communities and comes at a very low cost, since the towns do not need to market rivers, and since a moderate level of paddling requires little to no investment in infrastructure or services. American Whitewater often shares economic data with communities and managers when river access is either being proposed or challenged in an area, in an effort to show tangible benefits of supporting whitewater recreation.
Many rural communities are suffering economic woes because of shifting economic factors that drive industry. Natural resource extraction has seldom been managed at a sustainable pace. Paddling represents one part of a changing economy in many mountain areas - a change from resource extraction and industrial economies to a tourism based economy. Oftentimes, paddlers visit areas overlooked by other groups, and in times of the year when other tourism is greatly reduced. These factors can make paddlers' contribution to local economies even more important.
One of the best ways for paddlers to encourage river stewardship in the communities that we travel to is through their spending patterns. Paddlers can maximize their economic and social benefit to river communities through spending money in those communities, and specifically in locally owned businesses, rather than filling up gas tanks and buying meals in outlying areas. Spending money in these communities shows local residents a tangible economic benefit associated with river conservation and access, since paddlers prefer rivers that are legally accessible and that have good water quality and natural scenery. American Whitewater encourages all paddlers to have positive social, environmental, and economic effects wherever they travel.
Several studies have measured or predicted the economic impacts of whitewater recreation on local and regional economies. We have collected these studies and have summarized the findings, as well as provided direct links to these studies whenever possible. Most studies have mostly or completely overlooked private boaters in their study designs; however this does not indicate that private boaters do not have significant economic influences.
- Hotel rentals
- Gas sales
- Camp ground rentals
- Restaurant/bar sales
- Grocery store sales
- Retail sales
- Retailers can sell whitewater apparel and products
- Events bringing in out of city/state people
- Parks and recreation
- In city revenue
- Retailers can sell whitewater apparel and products
- Money will go into the city instead of traveling out of state for whitewater park and giving money to other cities/states
- Could add jobs to the community
- Business opportunity for training and selling/renting equipment
- Designer Options
- Scott Shipley M.S, P.E., Engineering Design, 303-819-3985,
- REP – Recreational Engineering and Planning
- Shane Sigle, P.E, Design and Engineering, 303-545-5883,
- Existing and Proposed Parks
So far, 132 whitewater parks are either built or are being created across the country. Below are some examples of existing and proposed whitewater parks with different features.
Existing Parks
:
- Charles City Whitewater Park, Charles City, IA, Riverfront Park on Cedar River, Population 7,544. Cost $366,120.00, in-channel .5 miles with 3 wave locations. Designer is REP. Studies have not been done but suggested economic impact of $833,400 with visitors and events. Local businesses have had an increase in a sale and there have been more out of state license plates in the park parking lot.
- Wausau Whitewater, Wausau WI, Wisconsin River, White Water Park downtown, Population 39,213. Cost unknown built in 1974. Course designed by Dewey Ewers. Bypass Channel .35 miles 13 wave locations. Wausau Whitewater Park has been said to bring in 1.8 million for championships and events at the park stated by Darien Schaefer Executive Director December 2012. The park is only open about 8 weekends a year because the water needs to be released into the park.
- Clear Creek White Water Park, Golden CO, Lions Park, Clear Creek, Population 19,035. Cost $170,000. In-channel .25 miles with 10-14 wave locations. Designer REP. Puts out more than $1.4 million per year into the economy.
- Vail’s Whitewater Park, Vail, CO, Gore Creek, International Bridge in Vail Village, Population 5,270, Cost $130,000. In-channel .1 miles with 1 wave location. Designer REP. Puts out more than $1 million per year into the economy.
- Truckee River Whitewater Park, Reno, NV, Truckee River, Downtown resort area, Population 227,511. Cost $1.5 million. In-channel .5 miles 11 wave locations. Designer REP. An estimated 1.9 million pumped into the economy each year.
- Brennan Wave, Missoula, MT, Caras Park, Clark Fork River, Population. Cost$360,000, In-channel 1 wave location. Designer is S2O. Estimated $1 million in economic impact.
Proposed Parks
:
- Rapid Creek Whitewater Park, Rapid City, SD, Sioux Park to Executive Golf Course, on Rapid Creek, Population 69,200. Cost roughly $414,000.00. In-channel 1.2 miles long with 7-9 wave locations. Designer is REP.
- Tulsa Whitewater Park, Tulsa, OK, River Parks on Arkansas River, Population 396,466. Cost not available since still in early stages of planning and designing. Out-of-Channel-Diversion 500 feet long. Designer McLaughlin Group. Economic impact not available but estimated around $1 million.
- Oklahoma City Whitewater Park, Oklahoma City, OK, Downtown (Brick Town), Population 591,967. Cost $25 million. Pumped Olympic Style Park. Will be Olympic and professional training facility. Designer Scott S2O. Estimated economic impact of $28.8 million.
- Kearney Whitewater Park, Kearney, NE, Platte River, Yanney Park, Population 31,174. Cost $300,000 if city donates equipment. In Channel 2 miles long with 6-12 wave locations. Designer McLaughlin Group. Estimated economy impact unknown.
- Manchester Water Park, Manchester, Iowa, Maquoketa River, Population 5,148. Cost 1.6 million. Construction is scheduled to start fall of 2013. In Channel .12 miles long with 5-6 wave locations. Designer REP. Bringing in about 600 thousand a year estimated.
- Sioux Falls Whitewater Park, Sioux Falls, SD, Location-(to be announced), Population 156,592. Cost (to be announced) (to be announced). Type (to be announced). Designers (to be announced)(either REP or S2O), Estimated impact (to be announced)
"Support the Sioux Falls Whitewater Park"
No comments:
Post a Comment