Portland's ideas for Darcelle Plaza include drag and dogs

Driving the news: Portland Parks & Rec held a public meeting Sunday to tweak the design for a new park at SW Washington and Ninth Avenue.

• Members of the public talked with planners and left comments on the printed renderings.
• Some people asked for more lighting, drag shows and moveable seats.

What they're saying: "I hope they do an art walk," Isabel Peistrup told Axios, meaning a space where artists display their work.

• She moved to NE Portland from Los Angeles a year ago and said she would have no qualms about walking Luna, her German shepherd-husky mix, downtown to this park.
• "I want to be involved in the revamp of Portland," she said.

Details: In 2023, Parks and Rec held a call for design ideas but picked up the pace for proposals last year.

• David Goodyke, landscape architect at NNA Landscape Architecture, said the city then asked his firm for an interim design.
• Those early ideas included ramps, food carts and a large butterfly sculpture.

Of note: NNA is keeping it simple (and within the $7 million budget) by planning for a flat space in front of a permanent stage, and some steps leading to another flat space, similar to Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Portland Parks & Rec has an established process for involving the public in new building projects.

• For example, it has spent two years planning to replace the Columbia Pool with the North Portland Aquatic Center, which should open in 2029.

What we're watching: When the park opens in 2025, the Center for Public Interest Design at Portland State University will study the way people use it, and NNA will come up with a permanent design in five to 10 years.