William K. Collins Park Project Proposal

Town of Clifton Park, William K. Collins Jr. Park Project Proposal 
Siena College, Department of Environmental Studies

Prepared By: Nicholas Giannetti

In collaboration with Jennifer Viggiani & the Town of Clifton Park Planning Department

Introduction:

William K. Collins Jr. Park, located on Moe’s Road, has acted as a host for the residents of the town of Clifton Park for years now. Collins Park is an 8 acre area that includes a playground, bathroom facilities, a baseball field, and a picnic pavilion. Currently this site is used by the Town of Clifton Park Parks & Recreation center for summer camp activities, recreational baseball and softball games, walking, and has a pavilion area that is able to be rented out by families and local businesses for picnicking. As an official town park, there is no authorized mapping documentation that lays out the entire area in its fullness and integrity. Therefore it will be my job and goal to interpret this natural area to the public and also develop a more information dense map accessible for the town planning department to serve as an aid for property management. 

Objectives:

It is my goal is to create a clear, visually compelling map that illustrates significant features of the Collins Park site located in Clifton Park, NY. Some of the main features to be illuminated on my map will include:

1.      Official property boundaries

2.      Topographic imagery of the elevation points

3.      Any available New York State Department of Environmental Conservation wetlands data

4.      Identify any open meadows, forested, and walking areas

5.      Label the public entrance, driveway, and parking areas

6.      Identify the restroom areas, picnic tables, and pavilion

7.      Label specific “active” areas such as the playground & baseball field

8.      On-site, public accessible trails

9.      Kiosks or signs

10.  Illustrative images and information about the species of local vegetation

11.  Portray the public trail along the Moe Road entrance way

12.  Illuminate public benches and overlooking areas

13.  Look for any notable natural features on site such as: specific trees, onsite stonewalls, and hedgerows.

This map will act as an interpretation of this natural area to the public, illuminating the important features of Collins Park that would be significant for public access and interest. My goal is to have an interpretative map  that serves as a friendly, inviting, visual for people looking to access Collins Park.  Also (time permitting), I would like to create a readily available resource online for anyone interested in investigating this town park. This map will be information dense, acting as an aid for the Town of Clifton Park Planning Department for land management decisions.

Methodology:

            For this project I will be conducting a GIS analysis of the 8 acre Collins Park and the Moe Road area. This GIS analysis will distinguish, and label specific features (as noted above) in the designated park area. This process requires collecting the specific GPS coordinates and recording them in an excel web sheet. I will prepare these coordinates (if necessary) to be entered into the Arc-GIS software. After preparation is complete I will upload the spreadsheet into Arc-GIS and plot the GPS coordinates over a map of Collins Park. 

            In addition to uploading my GPS coordinates I will need to identify some particular features within the Collins Park site. These features include the local plant species found within this site. The parameters for these plants include the identification of the specific species of plant, its genus name, its natural habitat, its appearance, season, and other basic information. I will also be identifying areas of significant elevation using topographic images. Wetland areas will be marked and defined with any NYS DEC information available. 

Work Plan:
Week of: October 16, 2011
-Talk over resources with the Clifton Park Planning Department
-Visit Planning Department(Fri.)
-Visit Collins Park site(Sat.), begin note-taking & record the collected GPS coordinates
-Begin with official property boundaries

Week of: October 23, 2011
-Upload first collection of coordinates
-Add basemap & aerial images to map
-Begin mapping of specific features 
-Begin to compile important information blurbs about specific site features
-Create the overall map presentation and layout
-Visit site (Sat. & Sun.) to collect additional coordinate points, information, & pictures 

Week of: October 30, 2011
-Continue development of main map
-Compile topographic information 
-Identify meadows, forested, and walking areas
-Add water sheds, plant life, map specific features 
-Start the introduction, information blurbs, and layout of interpretation poster
-Plot collected GPS points and continue the formation of Collins Park GIS map
-Visit site (Sat. & Sun.) to collect additional coordinate points, information, & pictures

Week of: November 6, 2011
*By the week of November 6, 2011 I would like to have my first posts of my site work and drafts to this blog.
-These posts will include interpretation poster draft & GIS mapping draft
-Any site information collected, compiled, drafted, and posted 
-Visit site (Sat. & Sun.) to collect additional coordinate points, information, & pictures
-Mark out and map walking trails and get coordinates of specific public accessible accommodations such as benches, tables, and fields
-Look up and post any NYS DEC wetlands information
-From this point on I would like to have weekly updates of project progression

Week of: November 13, 2011
-Weeks blog update of added features
-Finish hiking trails and complete the entrance and parking accommodations
-Map out Moe Road entrance way
-Compile any additional information such as information of notable natural features
-Visit Collins Park for an overview and comparison to my map

Week of: November 20, 2011
-Have important information blurbs about specific site features completed and finalized on interpretation poster
-Continue editing on GIS map
-Finish the mapping of specific points
-Send a draft to my client 

Week of: Nov 27
-Complete final draft of interpretation poster
-Complete final draft of GIS map, finalized with legends, title, sources

Week of: Dec 4
-Professionalize maps
-Plan my presentation


Deliverables: 

I will provide my client with a detailed interpretive map of the Collin's Park site in Clifton Park, NY. Along with this map will be a poster including an informative text that gives the reader some knowledge of this particular park. I will also include an extent indication map that will give the reader a relative location of Collins Park. 


Data Resources:
-Landsat images of Collins Park and surrounding area
-Wetland Shapefile: including wetland areas, rivers, streams, & any other bodies of water
-Public Access Shapefile: including entrance road, walking trails, parking accommodations, baseball fields, picnic pavilion & tables, benches, 
-Data collected in the field
-Official property boundaries shapefile, with forested, walking, and meadows areas identified