Great article today in the Enquirer about the redevelopment of Washington Park in Over the Rhine. A single quote and commentary stood out to me that has applicability to Tower Park and the redesign of the amphitheater. The article quotes Fred Kent, president of the Project for Public Spaces – a non-profit which has consulted on public spaces in over 3,000 communities, as saying:
Design is important, but programming and management represent about 90 percent of the success of a public space. When a space is highly managed and well programmed, they become extraordinary assets to the community and a real economic catalyst.
The impact of this philosophy has been very evident with the Fountain Square re-design and should be a model for the use of the new amphitheater when it is completed this July. I am truly afraid that the investments made in the park are going to be wasted on renting the facility out for weddings or watching it go un-used on a Friday or Saturday night. I think the city should form a group of citizens that would be interested in bringing programming to the facility for the summer and early fall months instead of having an understaffed parks board manage the programming. Lets utilize the space to bring some real energy to the Midway district.