Input sought on Stewart Park Master Plan

ROSEBURG, Ore. – The City of Roseburg has launched an online community survey seeking public input on a master plan update to help shape the future of Stewart Park.

Roseburg residents and others who use the city’s premiere park and its various amenities are being asked to give feedback to help City officials understand what people value most about Stewart Park, how the park is used today and what improvements they believe could make the park even better.

The digital survey will be available through Friday, Dec. 19. The goal of the survey is to reach as many people as possible to get input from a range of individuals and interest groups. Take the survey through this link or scan the QR code above.

“We encourage you to share the survey with your friends, family and neighbors,” said Park Program Manager Val Ligon. “The more voices we hear, the better we can plan for a park that truly reflects our community’s needs and dreams.”

Stewart Park’s current master plan is 25 years old. Thanks to Umpqua Health Alliance grant funding, Roseburg Parks and Recreation staff are initiating a master plan update to guide the park’s development for the next 20 to 25 years.

Parks staff, Thrive Umpqua and other community partners collaborated to win a $195,000 UHA Community Health Improvement Plan grant to help promote Douglas County residents’ health and well-being through several projects. A total of $25,000 will be used for Phase One of the Stewart Park Master Plan update, which involves the survey.

City staff have contracted with planning consultants from MIG (Moore, Iacofano, Goltsman), a company that worked with the City on the current Comprehensive Parks Master Plan in 2008. The City and MIG are now initiating work on a Stewart Park Master Plan update by undertaking a community survey.

At 236 acres, Stewart Park is the largest of Roseburg’s 21 parks. Stewart Park’s boundaries stretch from the Stewart Park Natural Area at Garden Valley Boulevard on the northern end to Fir Grove Park at Harvard Avenue on the southern end, and from Stewart Parkway on the west to Stewart Park Drive on the east. Although not within the Stewart Park boundary, adjacent Riverfront Park, which stretches further east to Interstate 5, will be included in the survey.

Amenities include a nine-hole golf course, indoor and outdoor tennis and pickleball courts, the Umpqua River Trail, South Umpqua River, Stewart Park Natural Area (aka the duck pond), skate park, ball fields, sand volleyball, horseshoe pit, a summertime band shell, butterfly garden, two pavilions, playgrounds, picnic tables and open space. The park’s Fir Grove section offers soccer fields, a splash pad, playground and pavilion. Riverfront Park contains an 18-hole disc golf course.

“Stewart Park is part of what makes Roseburg special,” said Ligon. “We’re collecting ideas to shape its next chapter. Please take the survey and tell us what matters most to you.”