The 30-acre park is named for former Vice Mayor Donald C. Biddle, who gave more than 40 years of public service to the Dublin community. Located in the center of the city, the park ties together east and west Dublin and provides a rich cultural and recreational experience. It was created as part of a 187-acre land development for 2,000 homes on land that was removed from the Camp Parks military base. Chabot Creek divides the park into the west side and the east side. The west side has a great six-acre unprogrammed lawn, berms, trees, hard courts for basketball and tennis, a restroom, a picnic and neighborhood play area, parking and naturalized open space. The smaller east side of the park has a bronze bust of Don Biddle, a fruit orchard, an outdoor classroom, a community garden, a grove with picnic tables known as the 'Parent Paddock', horseshoe courts, bocce ball courts, hammocks, an adventure playground, a restroom, and features Steven Whyte's 'Crossroads' Veterans Art, which honors the men and women who have served in the U.S. Military at Camp Parks.

A one-half mile long Promenade Loop through the east and west sides of the park crosses Chabot Creek with a pedestrian bridge and unifies the park and the creek. There are also two smaller bridges that cross Chabot Creek and connect to rustic trails.

 

Iconic and flexible facilities cater to Dublin's diverse residents and visitors, which include bicyclists stopping along the regional Iron Horse Trail, BART commuters integrating a convenient exercise routine, and residents organizing family picnics, playing games, watching children play and attending community events. The park - in adherence to the City of Dublin's sustainability initiatives - also showcases low-water use and drought-tolerant planting throughout and a smart irrigation system utilizing reclaimed water. The park stores stormwater runoff from the surrounding residential neighborhoods and a has comprehensive stormwater management plan to clean park stormwater before it enters Chabot Creek. In response to the clay soils and limited rainfall of 20 inches per year, the planting design is predominately grassland, savannah, urban forest as an oasis and rainfall-only areas.

The upcoming Parks Issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. This project was not chosen for a Feature in the issue, but we at LandscapeArchitect.com thought the project deserved to be showcased online . . .

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