MIDTOWN LINEAR PARK – COMMUNITY PARK DESIGN

The purpose of this RFP is to obtain proposals from qualified planning/engineering and/or landscape architectural teams for the design for the Midtown Linear Park “Community Park”. The Design Team should be experienced in all components and community impacts associated with the implementation of a neighborhood park plan in a diverse community. The Design Team should have excellent presentation/visualization and public outreach skills. 

Background: The Midtown Linear Park (MLP) owned by Ulster County is part of the Kingston Greenline, a network of rail trails, shared-use paths, and complete streets. This 12-foot-wide asphalt-paved shared-use path follows the former U&D railroad corridor from Cornell Street to Westbrook Lane (approx. 0.8 mi.) connecting the Midtown neighborhood and the Kingston Plaza where the City’s only major supermarket is located. The portion of the MLP from Cornell Street to Downs St (~600 feet) is a reclaimed former railyard that tapers from its widest point of 65 feet to 30 feet  and consists of approximately 0.55 acres. This portion of MLP had been envisioned as a community park during the planning for the rail trail.

Project Description: Ulster County seeks to create a safe, accessible, attractive and fun community park on lands that were once part of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad corridor in the City of Kingston (see project area link in Scope of Work) as described above. The design should create an attractive, inviting community play space offering both passive and active opportunities for people from all backgrounds, ages, and abilities. The Design Team should be familiar with existing rail trails, active transportation plans, and infrastructure in the Project area including the Kingston Greenline Design Standards, the Kingston Greenline Wayfinding Plan, the Kingston Ped and Bicycle Master Plan, the Broadway Streetscape Project, and the Roundabout at I-587/Albany/Broadway.