Smaller sailboats have the run of Tempe Town Lake, weaving between bridges and viewing parkside features. Photo courtesy City of Tempe
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Tempe Rio Salado Project
Founded in 1871, Tempe, Arizona's sixth largest
city, is bordered by Scottsdale, Mesa, Phoenix and Chandler and is
home to Arizona State University. The Tempe Rio Salado (Spanish for "Salt River") Project is a community-inspired plan to
restore part of the once flowing Salt River from a barren utility
corridor into an engineered flood-control project that has been
enhanced to meet the recreational, environmental, and economic
needs of Tempe.
In the first half of the 20th century, the Salt River
had periodically wreaked havoc on transportation, destroyed
buildings and homes, unearthed landfills and carried debris
downstream. In 1966 James Elmore, Dean of the College of
Architecture at Arizona State University, challenged the students
to bring vitality back to the then-barren Salt River bed. Their
initial project led to the adoption of a plan to convert the dry
riverbed into a meandering urban park. Beginning with that effort,
Tempe's Rio Salado Project is the culmination of more than three
subsequent decades of study and planning. Reintroducing water to a
dry riverbed surrounded by utility corridors and susceptible to
flooding provided unique problem-solving challenges, which were met
by constructing a bank-stabilized floodway channel within the Salt
River, thus recovering land from the flood plain for a linear park
system.
The centerpiece of the project is the recently opened
220-acre Tempe Town Lake, a two-mile-long waterway, surrounded by
parks and habitat spanning more than 5.5 miles in length and one
mile in width. The 72 acres of linear park will provide bicycle and
pedestrian paths, in-line skating, roller skating and picnicking.
For serious walkers/joggers, the 5.5 miles of pathways in within
the park will link to another path 18 miles north into Scottsdale.
Hundreds of citizens and more than 25 government agencies have been
involved with developing this local and regional urban
attraction.
Environmental groups have joined forces to provide
urban habitat for native plant and animal species. Rio Salado also
provides ample educational opportunities: Presentations are made to
local schools and nursing homes, businesses and civic groups;
outdoor environmental programs provide native habitat for study;
and interpretive signs throughout the park highlight the industry,
history, hydrology, and botany of the Tempe area. Public art ranges
from stand-alone monuments to a large tile mural. Designed by
hundreds of citizens over the past four years, the mural is
installed on a freeway wall, creating a ribbon of the past,
present, and future of the Salt River. Planned residential
developments will allow their residents to work and recreate near
where they live, reducing traffic and increasing the quality of
life in Tempe. Rio Salado Park, surrounding the lake, will provide
a link to the lake for planned resorts, restaurants, condominiums,
entertainment venues, and retail shops.
The project is documented in extensive report
containing an introduction to the project; sections on
goals/objectives; an historical timeline; project statistics;
development plans; positive impact; a recreation menu; and
frequently asked questions. Also included are 30 color slides, a
postcard of the Rio Salado Project, four brochures on Tempe and its
attractions, a flyer on boat cruises on Tempe Town Lake, one on Rio
Salado's art, and a Visitor's Guide to Tempe, Arizona.
Originally submitted by: Matt Salmon, Representative (1st District).
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