ASHEVILLE - Parks and Recreation recently released a draft of its 10-year plan, offering a first look at where the city might focus attention, and money, in coming years.
Top of the list, among Phase 1 project priorities, are two new major facilities — a pickleball complex, with eight to 10 courts; and an aquatic facility — plus reinvesting in six system parks and two community centers, new trails and "following through" on the development of a recently acquired property on Sweeten Creek Road.
Asheville City Council approved a $238,000 contract with Design Workshop Inc. for development of the comprehensive plan in March. "Recreate Asheville: Shaping Our City's Parks," the 172-page draft plan released June 20, can be found on the city's website: https://publicinput.com/recreateasheville.
“What the plan really does is provide us with a community-led guideline," Parks and Recreation Director D. Tyrell McGirt told the Citizen Times July 1. It lays out priority projects and programming, with a focus on "equity investment zones," which are areas with a history of underinvestment and greater need for the benefits of parks.
“The plan gives us that focus: This is the direction we should be going," McGirt said.
Park users react
As Parks and Recreation's first comprehensive plan since 2009, it was compiled with "extensive" input from community, the plan said, including 19 workshops held throughout the city, seven focus group meetings, ART bus ads, yard signs and an open survey that garnered 1,700 respondents.
It does not contain detailed design proposals, but instead identifies project types and spaces where investments are needed, McGirt said. Once approved, the department would create a strategic action plan to target year 1 priorities, and begin planning for identified Phase 1 projects.
Importantly, McGirt said it would help guide future bond spending. The city is considering an $80 million general obligation bond package, though final amounts are not yet set, with upward of $20 million dedicated to Parks and Recreation. In order to pass, voters would take it up on the November ballot.
West Asheville resident Sally Grau, part of a community push to rebuild Malvern Hill Park pool, is hopeful that bond funds will be dedicated to the beloved 90-year-old facility, which the city announced in February would not open this summer due to deferred maintenance, aging infrastructure and "uncertainty" that the minimum investment budgeted would be enough for repairs.
While the draft plan doesn't name specific projects, she noted that aquatic facilities were among the top priorities. The pool's closure was announced after the initial citywide survey for the plan closed, “so now we have an even greater need," she said.
With Malvern Hill Park pool's closure, only two public pools are open in Asheville this summer.
Malvern Hills Park is among the existing parks considered for reinvestment in Phase 1 of the plan. "I think they should feel pretty optimistic that something is going to happen," McGirt said.
Grau said several of the plan's themes resonated with her, among them "gathering and placemaking."
“Malvern Hills pool is the heart of our community in the summer, and that’s why we’re fighting so hard to preserve it," she said.
Pickleball?
Pickleball, a tennis-badminton-ping pong hybrid lauded as the fastest growing sport in the country, with a passionate and vocal presence in Asheville, was also among the most "pressing recreational needs" named in the plan, with new courts among Phase 1 priorities.
But David Kelly, vice president the nonprofit Asheville Pickleball Association formed last year, said the number of courts included in the plan was "inadequate," and would not be enough to satisfy the growing number of players.
Pickleball players have been calling for dedicated courts for years, often squaring off with tennis players around the city's outdoor, public courts. There are 11 public tennis courts in the city, each dual-lined for pickleball, making for 22 courts.
The plan is a "big deal," Kelly said, with "far reaching" impacts on policy. But its "ambitions for pickleball are, frankly, remarkably unaware," he said.
Similar comments were made about the draft plan through its online feedback form, with some calling for more dedicated courts, and some excited to see pickleball named among the top priorities. Others urged investment around Malvern Hills Park pool, expanding edible landscaping, summer camps, and ease of access to parks.
What does the draft plan include?
Phase 1 projects (short-term)
- Reinvesting in six existing parks.
- Reinvesting in two existing community and recreation centers.
- Following through the development of recently acquired property, Sweeten Creek Road Park.
- Building two new major facilities: a pickleball complex, with eight to 10 courts; and an aquatic facility.
- Improving access to shade and restroom improvements in high-priority equity investment zones.
- Building one new trail or walking loop.
Phase 2 (medium-term)
- Reinvesting in five existing parks.
- Reinvesting in two existing community centers.
- Building one new major facility: a senior and therapeutic facility.
Phase 3 (long-term)
- Wrapping up an additional 11 significant reinvestment projects, with the goal of improving all parks of moderate condition not renovated in Phase 1 and 2.
- Reinvesting in four existing community centers and one new community center.
- Building four new neighborhood parks, with a priority in equity investment zones.
- Building four new major facilities: an indoor aquatic facility; disc golf course; splash pad; and dog park.
- Building two new trails or walking loops.
Future phase projects (beyond 20 years)
- Reinvesting in 14 existing parks.
- Building three new neighborhood parks.
- Building diamond fields complex, with six to eight fields; and multiuse rectangular fields.
- Building to new trails or walking loops.
The plan will go back before the city's Environment and Safety Committee July 23. If recommended for adoption, McGirt said it will likely go to City Council for approval Aug. 27.
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
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