A Peek into The Park Planning Process Part 4

Welcome to the final post in the peek into the park planning process blog post series! So far in this series we’ve covered how to pick a property, evaluate the assets, imagine a park vision, and come together to make decisions. Now it is time to cover how park plans are implemented. 

Something wonderful about the park planning process is that it is flexible and adaptable every step of the way. The flexibility and adaptability are driven by community input and involvement. Therefore, the implementation process will vary depending on the type of park the community envisions. For example, larger park installations and visions might require the use of contractors. Hiring contractors would require more budgeting and will take more time to implement, since CVPRD is a small parks and recreation district with limited resources. However, when keeping budget and timing in mind we can get creative with what can be done with volunteer work. 

Having lots of volunteers willing and able to be a part of the park implementation process would significantly cut costs. This part of the park planning process is also particularly exciting because we get to gather members of the community to identify individual skills and talents that feed into a collective strength. For example, some residents might have a green thumb and would be particularly helpful with planting new greenery and vegetation. Other residents might have skills regarding building and the implementation of equipment. Volunteering can be incredibly rewarding, not only do people feel an increase in self-esteem but there is a collective feeling of happiness that comes from accomplishing something as a community. 

There is still plenty of opportunity to imagine and implement bigger park plans. Bigger plans would just take longer to budget for and eventually implement. There will also likely be opportunities to volunteer within a larger park building process as well. The central theme in these blog posts has been community involvement. The best parks will come from what the community creates. CVPRD looks forward to involving the community every step of the way.