Building a Better Community: Recommendations for Parks and Recreation Facilities and Services

American Structurepoint gives recommendations

Earlier in May, the team of planners from American Structurepoint gave key updates and progress on the plan to a steering committee helping guide the development of the city’s new comprehensive plan. The plan encompasses various aspects of the city's development, including land use, infrastructure, economic development, housing, parks and recreation, social services, and downtown revitalization. Through a public records request, this publication was able to get a copy of American Sturcturepoint’s presentation to the committee, and today’s discussion is a broad overview of the progress and key points discussed during the presentation.

You can learn more about the overview of the recommendations in a post that was published earlier:

Today’s work is devoted entirely to recommendations made on the city’s parks and recreations facilities and services. Here are some recommendations that might be included in the city's new plan.

Expanding Park Spaces

One of the key recommendations is to expand the park spaces in Troy. For a number of years, the City’s Planning Commission have allowed developers to pay “fees in lieu of”, rather than dedicate space for public parks, though with more private homeowner associations, this arrangement has been used less. And while on paper, Troy has an extraordinary amount of park land per capita, sometimes these parks are not centrally located or easily accessible. More parks mean more places to enjoy outdoor activities such as picnics, playing sports, or just relaxing in nature. By adding more parks, the city can ensure that everyone has access to green spaces close to their homes.

Enhancing Existing Parks

Improving the parks that already exist is another important recommendation. This could include adding new playground equipment, fixing up walking trails, and making sure that parks are clean and safe. Enhancing existing parks makes them more enjoyable for everyone. For example, adding more benches and picnic tables can make parks more inviting for families. Other amenities that have been discussed include sensory and meditation gardens. The quiet and relaxing nature of the county’s Hobart Urban Nature Preserve could provide a model for what some future park development could look like in our community.

Creating More Sports Facilities

Sports are a big part of many people's lives, and having good sports facilities is important. The plan might include building new sports fields and courts for activities like soccer, basketball, and tennis and even new sports such as pickleball and lacrosse. These facilities can be used for both casual play and organized sports leagues. Having more sports facilities encourages people to stay active and healthy.

Improving Accessibility

It's important that everyone in Troy can enjoy the parks and recreation services, including people with disabilities. The draft version of the plan has included making parks and facilities more accessible, especially for newer residential neighborhoods west of Interstate 75. It should also be noted that many of the older residential neighborhoods on the city’s northeast side lack easy access to park facilities as well. Improving accessibility ensures that everyone can take part in the activities and enjoy the parks.

Developing Trails

Trails and paths that people can use for walking, running, and biking. Developing more trails in Troy would provide safe and scenic routes for exercise and transportation. These paths can connect different parts of the city, making it easier for people to get around without using cars. While these paths weren’t explicitly discussed in the parks and recreation part of the plan, these options were discussed in parts of the plan dealing with transportation.

The planners from American Structurepoint noted that the city has a “Complete Streets” policy on the books, that provide a general framework to make the city’s trail system better linked between neighborhoods and also provide safer conditions for bicycles to use city streets. However, the planners noted that the policy has been poorly implemented on a city-wide level and is in need of reevaluation.

Engaging with the Community

As the plan reaches its final draft and eventual adoption, it will be critically important for the city to engage with the community when planning for parks and recreation services. The plan should include ways to get input from residents about what they want to see in their parks and to the Park Department’s credit, they have done the best job of any department in the city to actually solicit input from residents on the services the department provides.

In conclusion, the new comprehensive plan for parks and recreation services in Troy, Ohio, has many exciting recommendations. Expanding park spaces, enhancing existing parks, creating more sports facilities and developing trails and engaging with the community are all important steps to make Troy a better place to live. By following these recommendations, the city can create a vibrant and welcoming environment for all its residents.

What do you think? Do you like our park system? What kind of improvements would you like to see made — did someone say “splash pad”?. Our paid subscribers are more than welcome to provide their comments and ideas in our comment thread!

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