Greensboro Plan2Play Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2019

GREENSBORO PLAN2PLAY MASTER PLAN - 141

Action 7b. Increase density and diversity of trails within Parks. Across multiple engagement platforms, Country Park stood out as one of Greensboro’s most loved public open spaces. This is notable, as Country Park has more trail mileage, and diversity of trail types than almost any other park in the system. It also provides visitors with a variety of experiences, from mature shaded woodlands, to open lawns and pond edges, to playgrounds and a dog park. Increase the density of trails across all park types - Parks of all sizes and functions should incorporate successful lessons from Country Park’s connected and well-loved trails. The first step will be to increase the density of trails within all parks. This could occur in the small neighborhood parks, larger community hearts, regional parks, and lakes. While some of these trails may connect to larger sidewalks, or greenway systems, many of them can also be closed loops that serve local residents. From short half mile jaunts, to longer stretches in linear parks, a user's experience could be enriched by more walkable distances.

Increase the diversity of trails across all park types - Parks paths and trails need to offer a variety of trail types to users. For example, linear parks like Brown Bark Park and Kings Forest Park, could incorporate short paved walking loops in high use areas around existing program elements such as playgrounds. These parks could also include more miles of unpaved trails, or dirtways, that move visitors from the park edges into more natural portions of the landscape. Similarly, dirtways should be used to connect parks to adjacent drainage ways and open spaces to create broader trail connections beyond the parks. Smaller parks, can also offer a variety of path types from sidewalk edges, to mulched walk loops. Extend trails beyond park edges and into a variety of park experiences - Many of Greensboro’s parks, particularly those that do not include a greenway, primary trail or walking path follows the street edge as a more typical sidewalk. Extending trails beyond this environment across lawns, into forested edges, through planted zones, along stream corridors and around the lakes, and within grasslands allows park

users to immerse themselves in a variety of outdoor experiences. This concept goes hand-in-hand with the concept of “bring nature into our backyard,” which advocates for reduced mow areas.