West Chester is trying to determine how to best make use of its parks and recreational spaces. The township is undergoing a master planning process and seeking public feedback.
A community workshop is planned for Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. Anyone who's interested is asked to RSVP because of space limitations, the township says.
"This is the first comprehensive master plan for our parks," says Barb Wilson, director of public information and engagement for West Chester Township. "We don't add a new park to our system regularly, so this park master plan is more of a broad overview of recreation opportunities available to our residents in the community."
West Chester has two parks — Beckett Park and Keehner Park — and is home to the Upper Mill Creek Conservation Corridor, and Voice of America MetroPark. The township Board of Trustees' approved $108,000 to hire Hitchcock Design, Inc. to develop the parks master plan.
RELATED: USS Cincinnati memorial breaks ground in West Chester
"This study will also consider recreational facilities that are available in our community and available to our residents, but not directly managed by West Chester," Wilson says, citing VOA MetroPark as one example. "We [also] have a number of commercial entities that operate recreational facilities like the new Pickle Lodge [for pickleball] in the community. This study will also look at neighborhood playgrounds and those kind of things — all the opportunities that are available to our residents locally to recreate."
Wilson says the plan will be about creating a vision, not specifics like adding a tennis court or playgrounds. "We're looking at this end master plan to be a type of guide, rather than a prescriptive list of things we want."
The session will begin with a guided discussion. People can also submit their ideas.
