Cleveland seeks resident feedback on park plans

Cleveland’s first comprehensive parks and recreation plan in decades is underway, with city leadership asking for citizen input.

It has been forty years since the City of Cleveland took a comprehensive look at its parks and recreation offerings, according to Andrew Dobshinsky, associate with OLIN, the Philadelphia-based landscape architecture and planning firm selected to do the job now. The firm has worked nationally and internationally, and yet, Dobshinsky recognizes that Cleveland is unique. 

“It’s exciting, the current moment the city is in,” he said. 

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Led by the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects (MOCAP), the 15-year master plan will be a roadmap that “ensures just and fair capital investment in parks and recreation, provides equitable connections to quality parks and recreation activities while meeting the needs of city residents, community groups, and other stakeholders,” per the related press release.

The master plan project began last summer, when OLIN met with residents to ask what they wanted from their city’s parks and recreation department, as well as which facilities are overdue for repair. The firm listened to residents’ feedback, surveyed what was and wasn’t working, and created guidelines and recommendations to inform the planning process. 

This week, OLIN will return to Cleveland’s east and west sides for open house sessions, inviting additional feedback before completing the plan later this year.

What is included in the master plan?

The 15-year master plan takes into consideration all of the city’s parks and recreation centers, a plan that should ultimately improve quality of life for all Clevelanders. 

“Parks and recreation are such important resources to people in their daily lives. There are environmental benefits, physical and mental benefits, trees that provide shade in summer or wind breaks in winter, places to gather in community, to improve quality of life,” said Dobshinsky. “Cleveland has so many parks, more than most people realize.”

The City of Cleveland currently operates 179 unique parks and recreation sites, including 155 city parks, 23 recreation centers and one golf course – a total of nearly 1,760 acres. These sites include 111 baseball fields, 108 playgrounds, 88 basketball courts, 70 tennis courts, 40 indoor or outdoor swimming pools, and hundreds of other public amenities and programs.

The lakefront is being addressed at the same time as parks and recreation, and creating equitable access to different types of amenities and programs is one of the primary goals.

Dobshinsky believes this makes Cleveland stand out among other cities as unique. 

“We are not just focused on the signature spaces, but also on every neighborhood having access… prioritizing neighborhoods that have been historically disinvested in,” he said.

Why does resident feedback matter?

At the upcoming open houses, Clevelanders will be able to see what OLIN learned last summer, review components of the long-range plan, and offer input to help guide and refine the plan even further. 

Rhonda Crowder, CEO of Rhonda Crowder and Associates, has been contracted locally by OLIN to conduct outreach and event coordination for the open houses. More than 1,500 residents already participated in phase one of the project, and Crowder is hopeful even more residents will join for phase two. 

“Sometimes we talk about residents not having the chance to give feedback, but we are actively seeking feedback from residents,” said Crowder, who lives in the city. “We are asking, ‘What do you want from parks and recreation?’ This is the chance to give feedback.”

Where and when are the open houses?

The format for open houses will be drop-in style, so anyone can stop by between the hours of 5:30 and 7:30 pm at any location. There will not be a formal sit-down program, so residents can spend as much or as little time as they like reviewing plan components and talking with representatives from MOCAP and OLIN. Spanish speakers will also be on-site. Light food will be provided, as well as children’s activities.

Open houses will be held at the following locations from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.:

Michael Zone Neighborhood Resource & Recreation Center, 6301 Lorain Ave., on Tuesday, May 14

Collinwood Neighborhood Resource & Recreation Center, 16300 Lakeshore Blvd., on Wednesday, May 15

Estabrook Neighborhood Resource & Recreation Center, 4125 Fulton Road, on Thursday, May 16 

Lonnie Burten Neighborhood Resource & Recreation Center, 2511 E. 46th Street, on Friday, May 17

Please note, if a resident is unable to attend an open house but would still like to participate in giving feedback, a digital option is being made available online at cleparksrecplan.com