Historical September 1997 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
When the new Master Plan for Forest Park was adopted in 1996, plans for the redesign of the golf course were incomplete. At that juncture, executive committee members and John Hoal, Director of Urban Design for the City of St. Louis, had drawn in a path running from DesPeres and Lindell to the new passive space area by the Grand Basin.
There was also agreement on maintaining a buffer area that could be used by the public at the northern end of the golf course.
The Plan called for the elimination of all golf holes from the area of the basin.
The final recommendations concerning the golf course have now been made.
In order to accommodate the many retired people who golf in Forest Park, 9 holes suitable for their needs would be added to the original plan for a state of the art 18 hole course. One hole would be left at the edge of the Grand Basin. Because of these changes and because the private company operating the course fears liability, the pedestrian path would be eliminated.
For many residents of Skinker DeBaliviere, this creates a hardship.
It becomes much more difficult for residents, especially mothers with young children, to go to the park to enjoy the beauty of new passive space on foot. Instead, residents who live so close to the edge of the park would have to rely on automobiles to enjoy what is in truth their neighborhood park In addition, the buffer area that had been promised would also be eliminated from the final plan.
The charge to those who created the Master Plan included the proviso of making the park more accessible to the neighborhoods bordering it.
These final revisions do not accomplish this objective for Skinker DeBaliviere, On August 28, the Forest Park Advisory Committee voted with only 2 objections that these revisions were a major change to the Forest Park Master Plan and deserved a public hearing.
The city’s Community Development. Commission will vote on these changes after the hearing. Those interested in these changes can contact the SDCC office at 862-5122 to check on the date and time of the hearing. Those who favor the path and the buffer space do not object to golf nor to having a state-of-the-art golf course in Forest Park. Instead, proponents want to be able to enjoy a little bit of what is, after all, our neighborhood park and the tranquillity it can provide.
The Community Development Commission has scheduled Its hearing for Tues., Sept. 30 at 6:30pm in Room 208 City Hall.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September 1997.
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Original source: SD_Times1997_09.pdf, printed page(s) 1; PDF page(s) 1.
