The vision for the city of Ann Arbor’s parks department was approved by City Council. WEMU’s Josh Hakala tells us about the city’s Parks and Recreation Open Space Plan.
The “PROS” Plan, as it's called, lays out the wants and needs for the parks department over the next five years and beyond. It’s required in order to get funding from the Department of Natural Resources. Much of the report is compiled using public input. Some of the new additions that were requested that are being considered are pickleball courts, a splash pad, dog parks, and improved bicycle amenities.
Ann Arbor’s Park Manager, Josh Landefeld, says while the new additions are exciting, they have 2,200 acres to maintain, and that’s costly.
“While we are extremely well-supported, the challenge that we run into is, how do we maintain the level of experience across all 160-plus parks to ensure that we have a safe, innovative and enjoyable experience for everyone that comes out.”
Overall, most of the public feedback prioritized maintaining the existing parks over adding new ones. The PROS plan will be submitted to the state by February 1, and then the final version will be made available to the public.
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