When it comes to parks in Denver, east is east and west is poorer — with 1,200 fewer acres of open space in the city’s five western council districts.
That is prompting city officials to seek ways to make the most of resources by focusing on gulches and riverbanks.
Key to that effort is the Gulch Master Plan, completed in 2009, which includes $50 million in proposed improvements over 30 years, according to David Marquardt, senior landscape architect for Denver Parks and Recreation.
“They’re opportunities that not everyone knows about,” Marquardt said.
The plan addresses five gulches west of Interstate 25: Lakewood, Sanderson, Weir, Harvard and West Harvard.
Sanderson, which runs through the Mar Lee and Ruby Hill neighborhoods, contains the most park space, with 71 acres, and has some playground areas.
The gulch runs by Godsman Elementary, and Marquardt said students donated $200 toward educational signs about the gulch.
“Though it’s not much, it is significant that they went out of their way to reach out to us,” he said.
Marquardt said the plan calls for more natural play equipment, such as rocks and boulders.
The most expensive parts of the plan involve removing the concrete from some gulches, as well as replacing bluegrass with more drought-tolerant native turf, Marquardt said.
The concrete moves water too quickly and becomes a target for graffiti.
The city has 5,500 acres of parks and open space.
Another recent plan also addressed the issue of open space in west Denver. The River South Greenway Master Plan suggested reducing Overland Golf Course from 18 holes to nine to create a regional park. That met with opposition, however, and is now considered a long-term goal of 16 years or more.
