#Frisco #Colorado
 |
| Summit Daily |
Dozens of Frisco residents met at the Frisco Day Lodge on Thursday evening to hear an update on the Frisco Marina Draft Master Plan, a sweeping vision to expand and enhance the existing marina and shoreline, providing greater recreational opportunities and better public access to the Dillon Reservoir.
In front of 65 attendees, maps and charts stood on easels around the lodge in three "stations" where planning and design representatives discussed updates to the plan, which is still very tentative as it undergoes development. The current phase includes updates that open up the area in the middle of the marina park for green space and recreation, move two existing buildings closer to the shore on the east, expand shoreline access to the east and south, significantly widen a beach strip on the north side, expand the pier and greatly increasing seasonal dock access and storage facilities.
Craig Coronato, principal designer for architecture firm LoganSimpson, made a formal presentation that went over some of the highlights of the current phase plan. Phase C, he said, is more of a hybrid plan developed with elements from phase A and phase B. Phase C has the boat ramp moved to the southeast end of the marina, where it can take advantage of the deeper harbor waters and longer boating season created by the upcoming Big Dig.
Under the plan, the pier will be improved for pedestrian access and extended by about 300 feet, giving an opportunity to add more boat ramps. Boat ramps may also be redesigned to provide separate access for boaters with slips accessed from a separate gangway.
Other changes Coronato highlighted include expanding the beach on the north side to about 600 feet long, as well as converting some of the shoreline on the southeast to a wetland zone that can take advantage of tide and storm runoff. The result, Coronato said, would be a thriving environment for wetland vegetation and fauna, and in turn mitigate issues related to wetland disruption during the Dig.
Another interesting part of the current design sees a large open space in the middle of the marina that can be developed or kept 'green' for Frisco residents to use as a recreation area.
"We heard that the existing boat ramp is in the wrong place," Coronato said. "It's right in the middle of the current site and splits up the marina so that the shoreline is not as directly accessible for public use. But by reconfiguring the ramp and parking, we open up the middle of the project to more recreational uses and almost double the size of the open space available for people to use."
Coronato said that this idea seemed to be one of the most popular ones, as it gave Frisco residents a large, accessible green space right near the water.
"It could be used for kids sledding in the winter, outdoor running, exercise and so on," Coronato said.
Several questions were raised by members of the public during the event, including how to handle increased traffic problems at the intersection of Highway 9 and Main Street at the marina's entrance, and how the new development will affect Frisco's Main Street. Coronato and other members of the design team explained that the vision for the marina would make it an extension of Main Street, expanding access and improving opportunities for recreation and retail.
However, the planning team, including Frisco Bay general manager Tom Hogeman, wanted to emphasize that the project is still in the planning stages and subject to complete overhaul in accordance with how things work out with the Big Dig or other changes.
The event was the second of three community planning workshops, with the date of the third workshop yet to be announced.
