Greening the City A Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update for the City of Manchester, NH Steering Committee Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Commission Chair Stephen Johnson Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Commissioner George “Butch” Joseph Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Commissioner Sandra Lambert Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Commissioner Dennis Smith Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Commissioner Michael Worsley Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Director Ron Ludwig Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Deputy Director Chuck DePrima Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Recreation Enterprise Manager Ed Wojnilowicz Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries Business Service Officer Rick Riddle City of Manchester Community Improvement Program (CIP) Manager Sam Maranto City of Manchester Athletic Director Joe Raycraft January 2006 Prepared by: peter j. smith & company, inc. Buffalo, NY and Fort Erie, ON A city, like a living thing, is a united and continuous whole. Plutarch (approximately AD 50-120) Greening the City Greening the City A Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update for the City of Manchester, NH Table of Contents Page Number 1.0 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Purpose of the Plan ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background − ‘Lungs’ of the City............................................................................. 1 1.3 Greening the City: A Parks & Recreation Master Plan ............................................... 3 1.4 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 4 2.0 Goals, Objectives, Policies & Recommendations .......................................................... 7 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................. 7 2.3 Policies ................................................................................................................. 9 2.4 Recommendations ............................................................................................... 10 3.0 Park Classification ................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Historic Existing Parks Classification System .......................................................... 25 3.2 New Parks Classification System ........................................................................... 25 4.0 Systems Plan .......................................................................................................... 35 5.0 Trends Analysis....................................................................................................... 39 5.1 Overview............................................................................................................. 39 5.2 National Trends ................................................................................................... 40 5.3 Regional Trends .................................................................................................. 45 5.4 Local Trends ....................................................................................................... 49 5.5 Demographic Trends............................................................................................ 55 6.0 Park System Capital Improvements .......................................................................... 59 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 59 6.2 Parks .................................................................................................................. 59 6.3 School Grounds ..................................................................................................115 6.4 Mini Parks ..........................................................................................................134 7.0 Parks & Recreation Facilities Standards....................................................................145 7.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................145 7.2 Findings .............................................................................................................146 8.0 Inventory...............................................................................................................155 8.1 Facilities Inventory..............................................................................................155 9.0 Recreational Programming......................................................................................161 9.1 Programming the Parks.......................................................................................161 9.2 Manchester in Context ........................................................................................162 9.3 Programming for the Green City ..........................................................................163 9.4 Program Inventory..............................................................................................163 9.5 Overview............................................................................................................177 9.6 Key findings from Focus Groups ..........................................................................177 9.7 Survey Results....................................................................................................178 peter j. smith & company, inc. i A Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update for Manchester, NH 10.0 NRPA Development Standards ................................................................................179 11.0 Reference Materials................................................................................................183 12.0 UPARR Recovery Action Plan...................................................................................185 12.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................185 12.2 Part I − Assessment............................................................................................185 12.3 Part 2 – Action Plan ............................................................................................211 Index of Tables Page Number Table 3-1 – Parks Classification System ............................................................................... 33 Table 5-1 – Passive and Active Activities.............................................................................. 40 Table 5-2 – Participation Trends in Recreation ..................................................................... 41 Table 5-3 – Change in Recreation Participation .................................................................... 42 Table 5-4 – Selected Trends in Participation 1994-2004........................................................ 43 Table 5-5 – Frequency of Recreation Participation................................................................ 44 Table 5-6 – Recreation Participation: Total US and Youth (000s)........................................... 45 Table 5-7 – Change in Recreation Participation US vs. North East.......................................... 46 Table 5-8 –Geographic Comparison, State and Region.......................................................... 47 Table 5-9 –Geographic Comparison, State and Region.......................................................... 48 Table 5-10 – Sports League Participation............................................................................. 49 Table 5-11 – Survey: Parks and Recreation Facilities ............................................................ 50 Table 5-12 – Survey: Types of Parks ................................................................................... 50 Table 5-13 – Survey: Enhancements ................................................................................... 50 Table 5-14 – Survey: Programs........................................................................................... 51 Table 5-15 – Survey: Program Participation ......................................................................... 51 Table 5-16 – Survey: Activity Participation ........................................................................... 52 Table 5-17 – Recreation Acreage in New Hampshire............................................................. 53 Table 5-18 – Recreation Acreage 2000-2025........................................................................ 53 Table 5-19 – Parks Comparison: High Density Cities ............................................................. 54 Table 5-20 − Population Change 1980-2025......................................................................... 55 Table 5-21 − Population Characteristics – 2000 .................................................................... 56 Table 5-22 − Educational Attainment –2000......................................................................... 57 Table 5-23 − Income Characteristics – 1999 ........................................................................ 57 Table 7-1 − Manchester Recreation Provision Standards ......................................................146 Table 8-1 − Manchester Parks Inventory.............................................................................155