Greensboro Plan2Play Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2019

GREENSBORO PLAN2PLAY MASTER PLAN - 41

Parks, Trails and

Open Space Greensboro’s parks, recreation and open space system must be tailored to the community’s unique needs and provided to all residents equitably. To do this, we need to first understand what is provided today by the Department and who has access to it. Next, we need to understand and hear from the community about what their needs are. Finally, we can identify the gaps that exist today between what exists and what is needed, as well as look ahead to future community changes and shifting trends.

Table 2 - By the Numbers

A needs assessment was conducted as part of Plan2Play to evaluate the Department’s assets and services in contrast to identified community needs. The needs assessment used the Department’s 2017 inventory as a baseline, and updated it with recent changes. The assessment identifies existing and projected gaps in service and determines land, facility, and service priorities. There are many ways to evaluate recreation and park offerings in Greensboro. The system’s performance was compared to aspirations and existing metrics using national data on other systems and averages from the NRPA. A deeper peer comparison to eight similar cities and systems was also conducted (see Table 4).

Acres of City-Owned Parks

2,937

Number of City-Owned Parks

134

Number of Facilities or Centers

14

Miles of City-Owned Trails

98

Miles of City-Owned Blueways (Aquatic Paddle Sport Trails) Acres of Stream Buffer Land (Drainageways) Acres of Park Space per 1,000 Residents

2

2,411

10.2