Simplified: The Sioux Falls City Council on Tuesday got an updated look at the long-range master plan for Falls Park – including plans to make the park even more of a destination for both tourists and locals. Here's the status of the plan so far.
Why it matters
- The master planning process has been going on for several years now – and it's been decades since city has done master planning for its namesake park. Back in 2021, the city held a competition asking designers to think big about what the future of the park could look like in the coming decades. Since winning that competition, Confluence has been working on the master plan design.
- Principal Designer Jon Jacobson shared an update on that design with councilors Tuesday, including a look at a future Falls Park with more green space, better vehicle circulation, and a bigger pedestrian bridge for viewing across the falls themselves.
- The plan was met with some skepticism from councilors who questioned why no aspects of the master plan were included in the city's five-year capital spending plan, why no cost estimates were included in the overall vision for the park and what will happen if the city's idea of recreation changes over the years.
"This plan is an idea on paper, and it's not chiseled into stone," Park Development Manager Mike Patten said. "It's a living document, so as things evolve, as the community grows, as it changes, I would expect this vision to adapt to those changes over time."
What's in the plan?
Quite a bit – as one would expect in a plan set to be implemented over 20 to 40 years.
This graphic summarizes the main goals of the plan:
Breaking it down further, the plan would look at improving both pedestrian and vehicle traffic around the Falls and the Farmers Market while also bringing more green space to the center of the park.
Here's a look at plans for the Farmers Market:
The plan would also include changes to the facilities available to visitors, including a new observation tower located further south in the park by the Queen Bee Mill – another area Jacobson said the plan reimagines as a facility built around the existing ruins – preserving them, but also creating event space and "something that was quintessentially Sioux Falls" inside.
The above image also shows what a larger pedestrian bridge might look like.
Another future vision reimagines the quarry on the east side of Weber Avenue as an urban fishing pond and a way to better connect Falls Park with the adjacent Whittier neighborhood.
Other potential improvements in the master plan as it stands now include:
- Additional bike trail trailhead and single track course,
- An adventure course near the urban fishery,
- Improvements to the Stockyards Ag Experience,
- More vendor space for the Farmers Market,
- Realigning Falls Park Drive and Rice Street,
- A land bridge connecting the park over Falls Park Drive,
- And overall more green space to enjoy.
What happens next?
The plan will be shared in a public informational meeting on Jan. 14 before it moves to the parks board for initial approval on Jan. 21.
If approved by the parks board, the plan will then move in front of the City Council for final approval.
- Approving the plan doesn't mean all of these things will happen in Falls Park. Rather, it's approving the long-term vision for the park and then acting on opportunities as they arrive or referencing the plan when different aspects of the park need improvements.
