Shaping the future of Colonial Lake

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A preliminary master plan to give Colonial Lake and the Moultrie Playground a much needed facelift was unveiled on Thursday, October 16. And the Charleston Parks Conservancy wants your help!

The Conservancy group teamed up with Design Works, the City of Charleston and their very own streetteam of Charleston Park Angels.

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At five stations around the parks Colonial Lake Team members addressed locals, asking for feedback on how Charlestonians feel these public spaces could be improved. Participants enjoyed viewing the conceptual renderings at each tent, addressing questions, concerns, and ideas to the Park Angels on hand, and jotting down their ideas on shaping this historic, public site.

Situated between Broad Street and Beaufain Street, Colonial Lake is arguably an eyesore now, and certainly one compared to what it could be. So The Charleston Parks Conservancy decided to tackle the Colonial Lake area as their first project downtown as -- well here's what they said: "Colonial Lake and Moultrie Playground act as an integral part of the downtown Charleston parks network which connects citizens and visitors back to the natural history and genius loci of the city."

Here are the groups' goals for the parks:

Design Principles for Moultrie Playground
Preserve and enhance existing active recreational opportunities and programs
Provide new active and passive recreational opportunities
Provide new and improved community building
Interpret historic canal linking Colonial Lake to the Ashley River
Design Principles for Colonial Lake
Enhance water quality, reinstitute tidal flushing, raiser water level
Utilize best horticultural practices in both design and maintenance
Enhance promenade experience
Create multiple gathering places, enhance seating opportunities
Extend presence of park into surrounding neighborhoods
Tell the history of Colonial Lake

The Charleston Parks Conservancy has already been hard at work outside of the downtown peninsula, the South Windermere Shopping Center's Community Garden is the group's proof of concept.

To comment on the plans (and to find out more about this and future projects) visit the Charleston Parks Conservancy website.

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