Tom Petty Park improvement update

Press release from City of Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The City of Gainesville’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the Wild Spaces & Public Places program would like to provide an update on the proposed improvements at Tom Petty Park.

Close oversight from the City of Gainesville’s City Arborist and the City’s Urban Forestry staff have guided design decisions to ensure the health of the park’s suburban forest.

The large heritage oak at the southwest corner of the parking lot will remain a focal point of the park. To illustrate its grandeur, the design highlights the tree as the signature element at the west pedestrian entrance.

Current designs for the community park include:

• Removal of the existing racquetball courts
• Addition of 8 dedicated pickleball courts
• Addition of seating areas with a pavilion and site furnishings
• Addition of a pedestrian entrance from the NE 16th Ave. crosswalk
• Re-routing of the multi-purpose trail for ADA accessibility
• Renovating and enlarging the restrooms
• Upgrades to the landscape and code-required modifications to the park’s storm water management basins.

Design efforts for Tom Petty Park focus on balancing the needs of a wide variety of park users. While the northern side of the park includes active amenities such as sports courts, ball fields, and parking, the southern half is more forested with walking paths, a playground, and dog play areas. To maintain this harmony, the design proposes that the pickleball courts utilize the open space between the multi-purpose field and the tennis courts to minimize the impact of the courts on wooded areas. Work on the park is estimated to begin in late 2024.

The latest drawing of the proposed improvements is available online.

A FEW ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT THE PROJECT

LANDSCAPE PLANNING

A handful of trees at the southwest corner of the tennis courts have been inspected by the city arborist. Considered to be in poor health or low quality, they may need to be removed for the project with the following mitigation plan:

• Planting far more trees than are removed
• Planting fruit trees to complement the city’s Edible Groves program
• Adding a wildflower/pollinator garden to increase native biodiversity and enhance the beauty of the space

ACCESSIBILITY

This project makes necessary upgrades to allow all areas of the park to meet federally mandated guidelines for accessibility. The park is not yet fully ADA accessible.

MULTI-USE FIELD

High-efficiency LED lighting is being added to the multi-use field to allow longer hours of play. The field size will remain the same (approximately 160’ x 280’).