Park rks M Master r Plan U n Upda date Findings P s Prese sentation June 27, 2 2017
Project Approach • Community Input • Focus Groups • Stakeholder Meetings • Survey • Draft Plan Comments • Inventory • Analysis • Level of Service • Maintenance • Findings Presentation • Draft Plan & Presentation • Final Plan & Presentation
Focus Group Meetings December 6-8, 2016 • 7 stakeholder/focus group meetings • 64 participants • Over 60 county organizations
Focus Group : Findings Strengths of the system: • Size of the system • Distribution throughout county • Diversity of opportunities all seasons • Open access - no daily user fees • WPA era structures • Distinct natural resources in historic parks • Good trail system - all seasons and multi-use • Diversity of habitat for wildlife • Resources are undeveloped • Partnerships with surrounding agencies • Passion of staff • Great management given limited resources
Focus Group : Findings Top Priorities for the system: • Repurpose parks spaces • Identify recreational tourism opportunities • Inventory assets to prioritize/address deficiency • Stabilize the current system/address deferred maintenance • Address lake quality • Maintain WPA structures • Update and repair shelters • Remove/replace play equipment • Create/update management plans (forestry, invasive species) • Develop individual park plans to provide better functional spaces • Upgrade branding/messaging • Create more effective partnerships • Create a volunteer program • Create education and outreach programs • Engage youth populations
Community Survey • 5,000 random mailed surveys, geographically distributed • 585 random mailed surveys returned 301 additional returned Open Link surveys •
Community Survey: Findings Usage of Existing Facilities; - Only Chestnut Ridge and Riverwalk have been used by over half of invitation respondents in the past year (69 % and 51 % , respectively). The remaining facilities are used much less frequently by invitation respondents, who identified a lack of awareness as the primary reason for not using existing facilities (47%) .
Community Survey: Findings Trails/Pathways are Most-Used Amenity. Respondents indicated they are most likely to use trails/pathways (74%), picnic shelters (56%), and playgrounds (48%) on a regular basis.
Community Survey: Findings Long-Term Areas of Focus Should Include Preservation of Natural Areas and Protecting the Environment. R espondents most commonly chose preserving natural areas (49%) and protecting the environment (46%) as long-term focus areas. These priorities are further corroborated by other survey results, both quantitative and qualitative.
Community Survey: Findings Top Future Priorities for Improvement Include Lake Quality, Trails/Pathways, and Restrooms. - R espondents rated lake quality (87%), trail and pathway connectivity (82%), and restrooms (80%) as most important priorities .
Community Survey: Findings Respondents Support Increasing Funding, but Not if it Impacts their Personal Finances. - Invitation respondents indicated that they support a variety of funding sources for Erie County parks and recreation offerings . However, they were less likely to support funding sources that directly impact them financially, such as an increase in property taxes (average rating 2.0), a new property tax (2.1), or new user fees (2.5).
Community Survey: Findings Focus on Improving Communication. - Almost two-thirds (63 % ) of invitation respondents rated Erie County’s effectiveness at reaching them with parks and recreation information as a “1” or a “2” indicating that improvements to existing communications could be beneficial. - Familiarity with Erie County Parks facilities and services is also relatively low, with 31 % indicating that they are familiar. - Local media (62 % ) and the Internet/website (51 % ) topped the list of best ways to reach invitation respondents with parks and recreation information.
Community Survey: Findings Maintaining and Improving the Condition of Existing Facilities is Critical. - When asked what areas, if addressed by the County, would increase their usage of parks and recreation facilities, the top response among invitation respondents was condition/ maintenance of parks or facilities (67 % ). - Respondents also allocated the most amount of money on average towards improving and/ or renovating existing amenities at parks and facilities in an exercise where they allocated a hypothetical $100 towards various parks and recreation amenities. - Finally, in the open-ended comments, many responses requested various upgrades and improvements to existing Erie County facilities.
Questions? Comments? Visit erie.gov/environment
Recommend
More recommend
