The city needs your help designing what will be our largest park in Atlanta

Of all the delicious treats the Beltline is poised to bring the city, one of the most delightful is the new Westside Park that will rise from the ashes of an old-ass quarry in northwest Atlanta. It’s planned to be double the size of Piedmont Park, and if you take a look at photos or the artists’ sketches, it’s pretty amazing. (If anyone has a link to artist sketches, please post it in the comments. I’m coming up short.) The dug-out quarry will become, God willing and if the rains come, a new 45-acre drinking-water reservoir. Beltline planners are offering the public a chance to say what they want Westside Park to look like, and you can tell them here.

My ideas: Give Atlanta a park that offers skyline views and an open lawn where people can lounge. And make it isolated from the traffic and commotion, a la Central Park’s Sheep Meadow. During my stint in the city I spent many a Saturday afternoon with amigos in that green expanse, and if it weren’t for the gorgeous views of the trademark buildings of Central Park West, you forgot you were in Manhattan. Also, make the place tie in to transit. Northwest Atlanta’s roads are narrow enough. Avoid having to widen roads by giving people options other than driving to this amenity.

They’ll be taking comments until Dec. 21, and from the looks of the survey, they’re keeping a truly open mind for what this park could be. Can you tell I’m just a wee bit excited?