City Parks & Recreation Developing Master Plan for Future Guidance

PARKS & RECREATION DEVELOPING MASTER PLAN FOR FUTURE GUIDANCE

Hosting two open house events June 17

RAPID CITY, SD--For the first time ever, the City of Rapid City’s Parks and Recreation Department is developing a city-wide Parks and Recreation Master Plan. As part of the plan’s development, Parks and Recreation will host two open houses in June for the public to ask questions and share feedback.

        The open houses are scheduled for Tuesday, June 17 at Main Street Square in downtown Rapid City from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and Canyon Lake Park during Family Food Truck Night from 5-7:30 p.m. Both events will be hosted by City staff and members of the consultant team and will provide information and activities for community members to participate in. These events will be family friendly, fun and informative. Everyone is welcome to attend.

        The City hired consultants, RDG Planning & Design, to facilitate the process of creating the master plan. Ultimately, the plan will identify opportunities for parks and recreation facility upgrades, new amenities, programming, funding strategies, partnerships, and for streamlined operations and maintenance. The consultant team has been meeting with staff and doing inventory of park and facilities conditions, recreation programming, operations, maintenance, budgets, and more to gain an in-depth understanding of the current system. An advisory committee of local leaders has also been formed to help guide the project. To date, preliminary themes have surfaced which may guide the plan’s recommendations, including:

• Access to nature
• World-class destinations bring great opportunity
• Funding is always a challenge
• The plan should be strategic
• Maximize resources through partnerships
• Operational and maintenance planning
• Quality of life focus
• Activation of open spaces
• Inclusive and accessible
• Parks as a tool for economic impact
• Expanded trail system
• Year-round activities

        City Parks officials indicate the final plan will serve as a roadmap to guide the Department for the next decade.

        “This is an opportunity to develop a clear plan for the Parks & Recreation Department,” said Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Biegler. “There has been massive growth in the community and with that comes expectations. We want to meet or exceed those expectations, and this plan is intended to do that, guiding investments in our parks for the next 10 -15 years. It’s important that we hear from all residents.”

        Insights from community members who benefit from current parks and recreation offerings and/or who wish to see improvements are an essential part of the master plan. In addition to the open houses, the City will be administering a community survey to effectively listen to and involve the public in the project. Surveys will be available at the open houses and available at https://RapidCityParkSurvey.org

         General project information and updates can be found by visiting the project website: parksandrecmp.rcgov.org. For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 605-394-4175.