HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutiveSummary Riverfront Design Character Guildelines City of Oshkosh Fox River Corridor Riverwalk Plan and Design Guildelines City of Oshkosh 1
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City of Oshkosh Riverfront Design Character Guildelines City of Oshkosh Fox River Corridor Riverwalk Plan and Design Guildelines 2
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Figure 1.0-1
FOX RIVER
FOX RIVER
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Riverfront Design Character Guildelines City of Oshkosh Fox River Corridor Riverwalk Plan and Design Guildelines City of Oshkosh 3
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1 INTENT OF RIVERFRONT DESIGN GUIDELINES
The Fox River has long been recognized as a great asset of the City
of Oshkosh; it is now time to celebrate the River. Until this time,
Oshkosh’s revitalization efforts have predominantly focused on land-
based improvements and redevelopment. With the successful opening
of the Riverside Park Leach Amphitheater, increased developer inter-
est in key riverfront redevelopment parcels, planned bridge replace-
ment, and the pivotal reinvestment in downtown by businesses and the
community-at-large, the focus of revitalization has now broadened to
include the Riverfront. As momentum builds for riverfront revitaliza-
tion, having a comprehensive riverwalk plan and design guidelines as
a framework is essential.
The City has developed this riverwalk plan and associated design
guidelines with the intent of providing a framework for:
Developing a continuous Riverwalk on two sides of the river be-
tween Wisconsin Street and Lake Winnebago;
Linking the downtown Riverwalk with the WIOUWASH State
Trail and UW-Oshkosh to the northeast;
Linking the downtown Riverwalk with neighborhoods and the
Pioneer Resort area to the south;
Crafting a unifying design vocabulary for public and private proj-
ects linked by the Riverwalk;
Encouraging consistently high quality riverfront development;
Creating a more beautiful, inviting riverfront in the downtown
area;
Improving infrastructure to make redevelopment opportunities
more attractive;
Locating improved facilities for recreational boating and fi shing;
Creating a wayfi nding system and user amenities to promote the
safe, easy use of the Riverwalk; and
Establishing alternative transportation (e.g. boating, bicycling,
pedestrian, etc.) connections between key destinations.
Having an overall framework for the riverfront will also improve the
likelihood of securing grants for phased improvements.
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Figure 1.0-2
Oshkosh and the Greater Fox Valley as shown in the Wisconsin Atlas
and Gazetteer (Figure 1.0-2).
Riverwalk
The City proposed to implement the riverwalk plan on property cur-
rently owned by others, on property to be acquired (outright or through
perminent easements, or in existing public right-of-ways).
1.2 EXISTING CONDITIONS OVERVIEW
Existing conditions of the riverfront between Wisconsin Street and Lake
Winnebago vary widely. The best river edge is the newly rebuilt steel
sheetpile portion of Riverside Park east of Court Street. The vast major-
ity of the balance of the riverfront on both the north and south banks is
in poor condition; a small reach on the south bank is in medium condi-
tion. The treatments of the river edge include: sheetpile; wooden crib;
and riprap.
The river elevation varies seasonally between 1 ½ to 3 feet. This fl uc-
tuation in combination with ice fl owage, storm-driven waves, river fl ow
rate, as well as user needs will all infl uence the design of river-based
structures.
1.3 DESIGN CHARACTER OVERVIEW
Along the downtown length of the river (Figure 1.0-1), a major design
tenet is to establish a strong, positive aesthetic character and identity for
Oshkosh. The design vocabulary selected remains coherent and recog-
nizable along the entire length of the study area. However, the family of
design elements is combined differently to address the differing physical
conditions of the river, user needs, and site-specifi c design intentions.
The Riverwalk provides continuous access along the downtown reach
of the Fox River in Oshkosh. Connections with adjacent neighborhoods
and destinations, as well as linkages to the regional WIOUWASH State
Trail are also established. Cross-sections of each the different edge con-
ditions intended to be developed along this downtown reach are illus-
trated in the Design Character section. Redevelopment opportunities
adjacent to the Riverwalk are also addressed. The Design Character
section also addresses Riverwalk design elements, signage, and river-
based and land-based user amenities.
The family of design elements relies heavily on low-maintenance,
vandal-resistant materials including: fi nished aluminum, light-colored
painted metals, traditional concrete and bituminous pavements, and
dense renewable wood (i.e. Ipe). The light selected for the Riverside
Park Amphitheater will be used along the entire downtown portion of
the Riverwalk; the river edge railing and other elements have been se-
lected and designed to be light-colored and transparent. Separation be-
tween uses has been achieved using changes in elevation and low walls
Appleton
Neenah
Menasha
Fond du Lac
Lake Butte des Morts Lake Winnebago
Oshkosh
Lake Winneconne
Kaukauna
Fox River
Fox
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that seek to separate users while maintaining river views; and planted
berms where space allows, to screen parking and industrial uses from
the river.