The City of Parkville will be administering a community survey in 2023 to determine the current needs of the Parks and Recreation system. The results from this survey will provide the City with direction to make updates on the current master plan from 2016. Updates regarding the 2023 Parks and Recreation survey and Master Planning process will be shared on this page.
The 2016 Parks Master Plan is part of a broader plan to improve park facilities and recreation in Parkville, which includes both passive and active recreation for the entire community’s enjoyment.
Parkville Parks
Residents of Parkville enjoy one of the premiere public park and open space systems in the entire metropolitan area.
The City maintains a network of community parks and recreation areas that provide a broad range of recreation opportunities for its residents. It includes two large parks along the river, two nature sanctuaries, trails and neighborhood parks. The City’s Strategic Plan has adopted a vision statement that includes, “The City of Parkville will enjoy an accessible, safe and connected community park system, providing regionally significant destinations and preserving and enhancing Parkville’s unique natural resource base while maintaining and creating a variety of unique recreational activities.” In 2016, the City, with public input, adopted a Parks Master Plan that outlined long-term enhancements to the community’s parks system. Consistent with the City’s goals, the Plan sets forth a vision to continue to upgrade the parks and enhance the quality of life for our residents.
2016 Parks Master Plan
Parkville adopted a master plan for its parks and recreation in 2016 that was developed with broad participation by the public, with the intended purpose of setting a long-term vision and action plan for the park system and recreation programs.
Consistent with the vision statement, the City, with public input, adopted a Parks Master Plan in 2016. The plan sets a long-term vision and action plan for the park system, providing the City a road map for facilities and maintaining and improving the system and operations. The Plan promotes Parkville’s parks to capture the essence of a small, riverfront town from the bluffs to the water, wetlands, natural areas and everything in between. Parkville parks are also about recreation – people “re-creating” themselves away from work and home, enjoying the outdoors. In surveys, residents credit parks, open space and recreational opportunities for their high quality of life in addition to the small-town atmosphere and proximity to all the amenities the metro area offers.
The City hired the professional firm Vireo to develop the Park’s Master Plan. Vireo is an experienced planning and landscape architecture design team that specializes in parks, conservation and the environment. They were retained by the City to provide professional advice on the development of the Parks Master Plan, and also for their outreach specialists and their ability to engage the community in the planning process.
Vireo facilitated a number of public outreach engagements in cooperation with the City and Platte County Parks & Recreation. Nearly 400 participants in total provided input identifying park priorities, preferences and needs. A variety of public engagement formats were employed in order to reach as many residents as possible including: focus group discussions; on-line questionnaires served across e-mail and social media; a public open house; and a booth hosted by the Community Land & Recreation Board (CLARB) at the City’s 4th of July event. Information gathered from these engagements provided guidance and direction for the purposes of updating the Parks Master Plan and design concepts for the riverfront parks. It is noted that any one outreach engagement was not the basis for a specific recommendation in the plan, but a collection of input provided guidance to the consultant in preparing a comprehensive plan for Parkville’s parks that meet the long term goals for the community.
The final Plan and its conclusions were presented to the appointed and elected boards of the City. CLARB and Board of Aldermen, in 2016, both unanimously approved the Plan. The following link includes the final Plan, as well as other documents related to the planning 2016 planning process:
What were the priorities in the 2016 Parks Master Plan?
A Riverfront Parks Design Concept was adopted that included a final design incorporating priorities expressed by the community. The Riverfront Parks Design Concept divided the park into three segments: Downtown Transition Zone, Platte Landing Park and English Landing Park. Within each segment, the Plan’s goals were established. The priorities included findings to address:
- Create a Stand-Alone Parks Department
- Parks Maintenance
- Funding for Parks Improvements
- Providing greater connectivity to service areas
- Regional Riverfront Parks
- Downtown Transition Area
- English Landing Park
- Platte Landing Park
- Existing Parks and Park Properties
- Activities Programming
- Development Fees
- City Codes
A copy of the findings and recommendations of the Parks Master Plan are available at:
