CCT Segment 3 Amenities – Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency

We want to hear from you!

Please fill out our survey. The survey seeks community input on the historical narratives and narratives for inclusion in the project design. It takes approximately seven minutes to complete and is available starting May 31, 2021 and will close at the end of the day on June 13, 2021.

Capital Cascades Trail – Proposed History & Culture Trail Amenities Survey

Project Description

The History & Culture Trail project will honor adjacent resilient neighborhoods, civil-rights advocates and economic engines of the communities located along FAMU Way. It will highlight the culture of these communities and their stories through artistic cultural and historical interpretations. The project will provide an interactive, immersive outdoor museum experience to residents and tourists alike that recognizes and celebrates the historical contributions and cultural impact of these communities. Interpretive history kiosks will display images, photographs and historic information about the neighborhoods, businesses and people living and working in the area. Through a partnership with the Council on Culture and Art (COCA), artistic installations are planned to complement the interpretive kiosks.

Community Engagement: The upcoming community engagement sessions will present and collect feedback on the historical content and narratives contained in the interpretive outline. The information collected will assist in the development of the history and culture information and design of project features.

Register to attend the virtual meeting here: http://bit.ly/HCTVirtualMeetingJune32021

The project includes six key thematic areas, or subject areas for recognition, along the trail:

Theme 1: Allen Subdivision
Theme 2: FAMU History & Civil Rights
(includes honoring Dr. Charles U. Smith)
Theme 3: Villa Mitchell and Economic Engines
Theme 4: Boynton Still & Economic Engines
Theme 5: Railroad Depot
Theme 6: Elberta Crate

The project will:

Share and celebrate the rich history and culture of the neighborhoods, businesses, and people living in the areas surrounding the Capital Cascades Trail and FAMU Way Extension projects.
Highlight the history of the Tallahassee African‐American community who has historically called the Project area home, as well as the significant history of FAMU and the local civil rights movement.
Improve civic engagement, enhance civil discourse, and encourage thoughtful and meaningful dialogue among people regarding the story of the surrounding communities.
Enhance the tolerance, diversity, and understanding of our communal history.
Add cultural value by communicating Tallahassee’s unique identity, social value by engaging opportunities for interaction and self‐reflection.

Link to Interpretive Outline (as presented to the IA Board on 4/8/2021): Click Here to Download

Coal Chute Pond Amenities: Improvements will include a multi-use trail around the perimeter of the pond, lighting, seating, landscaping and irrigation, a drinking fountain and a pond fountain. Blueprint also has partnered with Knight Creative Communities Institute’s (KCCI) Red Hills Rhythm Project to bring musical-play features to this new community space. There also will be an informal performance space with entrance to Railroad Square.

Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2020 with completion anticipated in the summer of 2020.

Project Manager: Junious Brown Junious.Brown@BlueprintIA.org

Restroom Facility at FAMU Way Playground: The new restroom facility will feature two family restroom stalls near the existing playground and Railroad Square, on the north side of FAMU Way.

Project Manager: Junious Brown Junious.Brown@BlueprintIA.org

St. Marks Trailhead: Located at the Regional Stormwater Facility, the Trailhead will connect Cascades Trail and St. Marks Historic Rail Trail and will feature on-site parking spaces. The design will feature an open, well-lit trailhead including amenities such as a water-bottle filling station, bike-repair station and drinking fountain.

Community Gathering Space at the Regional Stormwater Facility (RSF): This new public space will overlook the Regional Stormwater Facility. The design team is developing concepts for an expanded community gathering space to be included near the RSF for public input and consideration.

Project Manager: Tatiana Daguillard Tatiana.Daguillard@Blueprintia.org

Segment 3 of Capital Cascades Trail often is referred to as the FAMU Way Corridor. It creates a new east-west roadway from South Monroe Street to Lake Bradford Road, a distance of approximately 1.5 miles. The corridor also provides increased connectivity to the burgeoning Gaines Street and CollegeTown districts, creating a link between FAMU and Florida State University.

Planned Amenities:

Skateable Art:

Community Meeting #2 was held January 20, 2021 and Team Pain presented the final design to the community.

Click here Capital Cascades Trail Skateable Art Community Engagement Meeting to access the video recording of the meeting.

Based on the conversation and chat session among the project team and the attendee, the design was well received and no changes were suggested.
Both community meetings were proceeded by business outreach and robust traditional and social media outreach conducted by Blueprint, Team Pain, and City and County partners.

Community Meeting Summary #1:

Recording of Presentation by Team Pain

Thank you to all who attended the community meeting! Over 120 people logged into the web-based meeting to see what Team Pain may be able to do with this space.

Autumn Calder, Director of Blueprint, gave an introduction and explained the history of the project and plans for the area, including Coal Chute Pond amenities in the future. A Team Pain introduction and company history was let the public know, this team is committed to delivering an artistic, fun, and challenging experience.

After familiarizing attendees with the capabilities of Team Pain Skate Parks along with the restrictions and guidelines of the site, the first conceptualized design was shown in great detail. Meeting attendees were virtually walked around the entire site and explained the specific reasons for the shape of the park’s design. Utilizing space to make the most usable experience is something Team Pain has developed a knack for. After extensive explanation and visual representation of the entire area was shown, questions and answers were addressed.

There was dialogue between Team Pain, Blueprint, and meeting attendees through a typed comment section, as well as verbal questions and answers session. After this awesome interaction with the local users, a link to an online questionnaire specifically for this project was posted to the chat. The questionnaire has 30 questions with detailed photos that will help Team Pain understand what specific elements and material details are desired by the future riders. There is a strong, initial response to the questionnaire, which will remain open until December 1. The questionnaire results will help the team hone in on the design to deliver to the community the specific elements they desire.

Located at the intersection of FAMU Way and Pinellas Street, the Skateable Art maximizes the creative opportunity of the skateable features to function as iconic and landmark public art, with a focus on movement and visual flow.

The preliminary concept includes:

Snake run: pays homage to the FAMU Rattlers. A typical snake run is a long and winding path that flows downhill and contains undulating, transitional turns and hips. There usually are multiple changes in elevation, making each turn or hip slightly different. The snake run’s center piece is a larger-than-life rattlesnake with seating and viewing areas for resting park users and spectators.
Street plaza course featuring elements mimicking real “street skating,” including a skateable version of the famous curved marble ledge at the nearby Korean War Memorial.
Curved bank/ledge elements featuring various textured stamping with curved pieces and an A-frame with a ledge, with a rail and hip in between.
Low wedge-to-wedge box with ledge and rail, pole-jam rail, round three-stair obstacle, wedge hip with ledges, and a bank-to-jersey barrier.
Additional features that fit between these main pieces may be included. The goal is to create an engaging course with minimal clutter.

Project Manager: Sue Tanski