File photo: Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer
Another round of community outreach regarding the future of Fayetteville’s parks is underway.
The Parks & Recreation department has launched a new public questionnaire to gather more feedback for an update to the city’s parks master plan.
The online questionnaire is available at www.fayetteville-ar.gov/speakup. City staff said it should take 12 to 15 minutes to complete.
Originally designed as a 10-year strategic planning tool that identifies potential outdoor park and recreation needs and priorities, the plan hasn’t been updated since it was implemented in 2002 (download current plan).
A dozen public meetings were held in 2018 to give city staff insights into how Fayetteville residents were using and accessing parks and which parks and park features were the most popular.
This second round of public input is intended to learn what residents feel to be the most pressing needs for the parks system, how they prioritize those needs and what should be the focus of planning for the future.
A lot has changed since 2002, said Ted Jack, the city’s parks planning superintendent.
“Fayetteville is growing quickly, and our region is changing, as well,” Jack said. ” It’s important that we learn what our residents feel is important in order to be sure that we meet their needs and wants for the park system as we move forward. With good input from the community, we can develop a great plan that will guide us for the next 10 years.”
In addition to the online questionnaire, parks staff will host drop-in information sessions and questionnaire stations at several upcoming events, including:
- The Gulley Park Summer Concert on Thursday, July 29 from 7–9 p.m.
- CDBG in the Park at Walker Park on Friday, July 30 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- National Night Out at Wilson Park on Tuesday, Aug. 3 from 5–7 p.m.
For more information about the plan, including results of previous questionnaires and additional resources, visit the city’s website at fayetteville-ar.gov/imagine.
