Park Masterplans
Planning Your Park
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A well formed, current community masterplan should guide the development or update of an integrated urban park or conservation area masterplan. There are a number of considerations for developing a park and conservation area masterplan, and finding an experienced, professional consultant to assist is a good long term investment.
Ideally, this masterplan should guide development over a number of years, and allow for updates and changes along the way.
CREATING A PARK MASTERPLAN
Updating your Community Masterplan with your Park Vision
Finding Professional Assistance
Because these masterplans are key pieces of your long term infrastructure and maintenance plan for your projects, invest wisely! For projects like developing integrated parks, pathways, and urban green spaces, which may include walkways, amenities and conservation areas, consultants can help organize a step-by-step plan and phases, make recommendations, assist with budget planning, and coordinate any public engagement that is required.
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Each ASUPCA member works from a masterplan, or a set of masterplans, and you can access these plans on their websites, or in the Resources section. If you don’t have an existing masterplan, it can be helpful to start from an existing template.
Meewasin Valley Authority has masterplans for each unique aspect of the valley. Each provides insights into how masterplans guide development in general. In their case, the use cases, requirements, and longer term development strategies are unique enough to require separate plans for each, linked together by a master document for building trails, wayfinding signage, and accessibility guidelines. These documents can be accessed on the Meewasin website and are good reference materials for your own masterplanning process.
Common Masterplan Topics
Click on each heading to expand and read more.
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A masterplan is guided by your vision and purpose for the projects. This can be a combination of requirements for conservation, a desire to improve recreation facilities in general, or a commitment to engage with partners to develop thriving park and recreation infrastructure for your community.
A consultant can help guide conversations with stakeholders to develop a vision for your organization or municipal urban park plan.
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Taking a good look at what’s available, and the condition of these assets will not only form the basis of an initial park masterplan, but should also be the focus of masterplan updates.
An online asset tracking system such as ArcGIS is a good investment that will simplify park management across multiple users. Once you have an asset review in place, you can start to identify high impact projects, as well as the potential for lower effort projects that can provide immediate positive results. Wayfinding and information signs are high value, and depending on your project plan, can be relatively low cost additions to a park or trail network.
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If possible, implement a community engagement survey or open houses that can help you gather feedback from residents and user groups. Community engagement early on in a park masterplan can help give you a sense of how engaged different user groups for a park might be. Take opportunities to educate the public, and to create early partnerships with organizations who could be key demographics for ongoing engagement.
*For more information on public consultation process best practices, click here.
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Different stages, different ages! Everyone should have access to your urban green space, but needs vary widely. An overview of current demographics, demographic trends in your community, and anticipated changes within your area can help you prioritize projects.
A playground project might be vital, but demographic changes in the community and adjacent neighbourhood might mean future planning for amenities that meet the needs of older children and young adults over time. Make space for organized sports, and keep an eye on the potential for repurposing existing infrastructure to meet the needs of older residents.
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Core projects might be necessary for conservation or protecting current built up areas - for example from flooding or erosion - or for recreation, such as building playgrounds and interconnecting trails. These projects will form the basis of ongoing development.
Finding a consultant for core projects is important, and your municipal council should be made aware of proposed project budgets, project concepts, and the value of the project based on your established vision and goals.
*For samples of request for quote documents for consultants, visit the Resources section.
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As part of the masterplan process, you may want to assess all the inventory you currently have, including land, amenities, available resources, and your existing management plan. By starting with a baseline of existing infrastructure and the maintenance requirements, you will be able to prioritize potential projects based on your capacity.
Managing Short, Medium and Long Term Priorities
Your park masterplan should include short term requirements, medium term goals, and long term strategies for growth.
Your consultant can help you and your stakeholders decide on the priorities for your park system and projects.
This may be based on necessity, but should also include aspects that meet the big vision for your park, and a thorough review and understanding of the budget available to meet these project goals.
Once you have the masterplan in place, and a good idea of what infrastructure and long term management plans already exist, you can start tackling action items.
A park masterplan will help guide eventual presentations to your municipal council or management board, so ensure that you have clear details about costs, timelines, needs versus desires, and the impact on user groups and your community.
Be conscious of legislation and safety requirements for existing and planned infrastructure. Upgrading outdated amenities might demand immediate resources.
*For more information on preparing for council and board presentations, click here.
CHECKLIST ITEM
Assemble the team necessary to create or update your park masterplan. The first agenda item for your team or advising committee might be to select experts to assist with this process, and to decide on a budget.
Tatagwa Parkway Community Garden