Liberty Park Neighborhood Plan

The City of Medford is working on the Liberty Park Neighborhood Plan! Liberty Park is one of the City's oldest and most established neighborhoods, with a diverse mix of residents and businesses. It includes a mix of housing, commercial and retail businesses, educational and other institutions, and industrial uses, while serving as a gateway to the Downtown, other commercial areas, and the Bear Creek Greenway. At the same time, the neighborhood is surrounded by major roadways and it lacks a safe network of streets to provide adequate connections within and outside its boundaries.

Future public and private investment and revitalization will improve the area’s livability and economic health for residents, visitors and business-owners. In 2018, the Medford Urban Renewal Agency (MURA) allocated approximately $17 million toward the Liberty Park neighborhood in order to fund future improvements and development. The Neighborhood Plan will help identify the project priorities for the $17 million dedicated by MURA.   

WHAT DID THE PROJECT DO?

The City of Medford built on a citizen-driven 2002 neighborhood action plan(PDF, 854KB) to create a new vision for the Liberty Neighborhood, and identify actions and improvements to implement the vision. The project:

• Identified improvements to enhance the safety and ease of walking and bicycling, with a focus on key destinations such as safe routes to schools, downtown, and the Bear Creek Greenway
• Evaluated and identified needed land use changes
• Identified areas for future parks or open space facilities
• Created opportunities for community gathering spaces
• Improved opportunities for future infill and redevelopment

PROJECT FUNDING

The Liberty Park Neighborhood Plan is funded by a Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) Program grant through the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).  The City was awarded the grant in August of 2017.  City Staff worked with Jacobs & Angelo Planning Group.