Title
Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update - Citywide
Description
This report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee an update on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan project.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
The Parks and Recreation Department is developing a new Parks Master Plan to guide the long-term growth, sustainability, and management of the City’s park system. The last comprehensive Parks Master Plan was completed in 1988. This updated plan will outline strategies for enhancing existing parks, improving recreational facilities, and developing undeveloped parklands. It will also evaluate opportunities to introduce new amenities and programs that reflect the community’s evolving needs. In addition, the Master Plan will integrate water conservation practices and incorporate crime-prevention strategies, with a strong commitment to promoting equity and inclusivity across all parks citywide.
The Parks and Recreation Department retained PROS Consulting, Inc. as the prime consultant for the parks master plan. PROS Consulting, Inc. is a full-service management consulting and planning firm with extensive experience in parks, recreation, sports, and leisure. PROS Consulting, Inc. has completed system-wide parks master plans for Scottsdale, AZ; Clark County, NV; Broward County, FL; Kansas City, MO; and Mecklenburg County, NC.
The Parks Master Plan officially launched in September 2024 with a multilingual website where community members could learn about the plan’s scope and explore opportunities to participate and share feedback. To build awareness, the City used a wide range of outreach channels, including social media, newsletters, email lists, neighborhood meetings, public events, signage at community centers and parks, PeachJar for school outreach, Nextdoor, billboards, media interviews and articles, and paid marketing in both digital and print formats. Community and stakeholder engagement was a core component of the Parks Master Plan process, supported by multiple tools for gathering input. Engagement methods included a 24/7 project hot line, project email, an online survey, an interactive feedback map, a youth survey, a youth park model contest, in-person meetings, dot-vote boards, stakeholder meetings, and town halls. The process also incorporated a statistically valid survey to ensure feedback reflected a broad cross-section of the Phoenix community. All outreach and engagement activities were conducted in English and Spanish.
As Phoenix continues to grow, its population is becoming increasingly diverse, and household structures are shifting. A recent statistically valid household survey provided valuable insight into the community’s evolving needs and priorities. Residents report high park usage and strong satisfaction with programming quality, along with notable unmet demand for multi-generational facilities and a strong preference for reinvesting in existing infrastructure. Parks and Recreation remain vital public services that promote physical and mental well being, strengthen neighborhoods, and enhance overall quality of life.
This report summarizes the assessment findings, the outcomes of community engagement, and the key insights gathered to date. The analysis identifies both strengths and areas that require attention, creating a foundation for future planning, policy direction, and investment decisions.
Statistically Valid Survey
The statistically valid survey was conducted by ETC Institute, a company that has specialized in administering more than 25,000 statistically valid surveys across 1,000+ communities in 49 states over the past 40 years. ETC Institute administered the Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment Survey for the City of Phoenix in the fall of 2025. A survey is considered statistically valid when it meets several key criteria:
- Representative Sample: The sample must accurately reflect the population being studied - both demographically and geographic balance must be achieved. This is accomplished through random sampling, which ensures that every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
- Sample Size: The sample size should be large enough to provide reliable estimates. Larger samples lead to more precise results and reduce the margin of error.
- Minimized Bias: The survey design should minimize biases, such as selection bias, response bias, and non-response bias. This involves careful planning and execution, including the use of neutral wording in questions and ensuring a high response rate.
- Reliable Measurement: The survey questions should be clear, unbiased, and consistently interpreted by respondents. This ensures that the data collected is accurate and dependable.
- Appropriate Data Analysis: The data should be analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. This includes calculating confidence intervals, conducting hypothesis tests, and adjusting for any potential biases.
- Validity and Reliability: The survey should measure what it intends to measure (validity) and produce consistent results over time (reliability).
Methodology
ETC Institute mailed a survey packet to a random sampling of 4,500 households in the Phoenix. Each survey packet contained a cover letter, a copy of the survey in English and Spanish, and a postage-paid return envelope. Residents who received the survey were given the option of returning the survey by mail or completing it online.
After the surveys were mailed, ETC Institute followed up with residents to encourage participation. To prevent people who were not residents of Phoenix from participating, everyone who completed the survey online was required to enter their home address prior to submitting their survey. ETC Institute then matched the addresses entered online with the addresses originally selected for the random sample. If the address from a survey completed online did not match one of the addresses selected for the sample, the online survey was not included in the final database for this report. The survey aimed to collect a minimum of 1,000 completed household responses, and this target was surpassed with 1,133 completed surveys collected. The overall results for the sample have a precision rate of at least +/ 2.9 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.
The findings reveal that residents place a high value on the City’s parks and recreation system, viewing it as essential not only for promoting physical and mental well being but also for enhancing neighborhood safety, protecting natural resources, and strengthening the overall appeal of Phoenix as a place to live. This strong support underscores the central role parks and recreation play in shaping quality of life and long term community vitality.
Results
Park Visitation, Barriers, and Maintenance Satisfaction
Seventy-eight percent of households reported visiting a City park or recreation facility within the past year, underscoring the central role these spaces play in daily life and community well being. Residents primarily used parks for low-intensity, accessible activities such as walking, casual recreation, family gatherings, and playground use which highlights the importance of maintaining welcoming, everyday spaces.
Despite strong overall engagement, several factors limited how often or how comfortably people were when visiting parks. The most frequently cited barriers included insufficient shade during hot weather, concerns about personal safety, and inadequate lighting issues that can disproportionately affect community members overall park experience.
When asked about maintenance, residents expressed the highest satisfaction with landscape functions like mowing, tree care, and general vegetation management. However, they also pointed to several areas where improvements would have the greatest impact on their experience. Lighting upgrades, more consistent restroom maintenance, quicker graffiti removal, and enhanced overall cleanliness emerged as top priorities, indicating a desire for parks that feel safe, clean, and well cared for throughout the year.
Recreation Program Participation
Only 29 percent of households participated in City recreation programs over the past year, suggesting that a significant portion of the community is not engaging with available services. Survey responses point to lack of awareness as the most common barrier, indicating that many residents may not know what programs exist, when they occur, or how to enroll. Additional obstacles include limited free time, travel distance to facilities, concerns about facility conditions, and gaps in program availability which further reduce participation for many households.
Despite these access challenges, those who did participate reported very high satisfaction with program quality. This data highlights a central issue, the programs themselves are strong and well received, but many residents face practical or informational barriers that prevent them from taking advantage of them. Strengthening outreach, improving facility accessibility, and expanding program options could therefore have a meaningful impact on overall participation.
Facility and Program Needs
Community members identified several facilities as high-priority investment areas due to persistent unmet demand across the community. Desired improvements include indoor walking and jogging tracks that offer year-round, climate controlled activity space; additional open space for unstructured recreation; and more picnic areas and ramadas to support family gatherings and social events. Indoor fitness centers and community centers were also highlighted as essential hubs for daily activity, learning, and connection. Likewise, dog parks, playgrounds, and splash pads emerged as important amenities that serve a wide range of ages and household types. Collectively, these priorities underscore a strong community preference for everyday, multi-generational, and climate-responsive facilities that enhance quality of life in all seasons.
Programmatic needs followed a similar pattern. High-demand program areas include fitness and wellness offerings, community special events, performing arts opportunities, water fitness and lap swimming, and after-school programs that support working families. Specifically, active-aging households expressed particularly strong interest in fitness classes, arts and crafts, special events, and technology-based learning opportunities, indicating a desire to stay physically active, socially engaged, and intellectually stimulated. These program preferences highlight the importance of designing services that are inclusive, adaptable, and responsive to evolving demographic trends.
Community Support for Investment
Residents expressed strong support for “fix-it-first” investments, emphasizing the importance of addressing basic needs within the current park system before pursuing new development. Feedback highlighted a desire for general repairs, routine maintenance, improved lighting, upgraded restrooms, and enhanced walking pathways, amenities that directly affect daily park use and overall visitor comfort. This preference suggests that the community values the reliability, safety, and quality of existing facilities, indicating that reinvestment in current park infrastructure should take precedence over expanding the system with new parks or major capital projects.
Level of Service and Equity Analysis
Level of service (LOS) analysis for flatland parks will serve as a foundation for the Parks Master Plan, guiding future investments, identifying gaps, and ensuring the Parks and Recreation Department continues to deliver high-quality recreational experiences for all residents. This analysis will help to evaluate current distribution, accessibility, and capacity across the park system, identify geographic or demographic gaps in service, and highlight areas where improvements or new investments are most needed. By grounding future planning decisions in measurable performance indicators, the LOS framework ensures that resources are allocated equitably and strategically, supporting the long-term goal of delivering high-quality, inclusive, and sustainable recreational experiences for all residents.
The next steps in the planning process will focus on the Parks and Recreation Department’s Operational Assessment. This phase will include a series of structured, specific workshops. These workshops covering programs and services, maintenance, and Park Ranger operations are designed to provide a comprehensive, data-informed evaluation of current departmental functions and to identify opportunities for operational improvement.
The Parks Department will return to the subcommittee with an update on the Level of Service Analysis, as well as the Cost Estimating and Prioritization for Capital Improvements. A draft of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan will be available to the public for input in early summer. The final Master Plan will be presented to the Parks Board for final adoption in late summer 2026.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Cynthia Aguilar and the Parks and Recreation Department.