Goal #13 Reflection Build programs and places in which residents see and express their community’s values and perspectives. 13.1 Measure and report on park and facility visitation to understand use patterns across geographies and demographics and prioritize investments aimed at increasing visitor diversity. Visitation counts are extremely important, as they help organizations understand facility capacity and need against program allocation and weekly or seasonal use patterns. Counts help to identify where and how Mecklenburg Park & Rec resources, like staff, routine maintenance and capital reinvestment funding, programs should be allocated. Accurate visitation counts also reveal if Mecklenburg Park & Rec is fulfilling its goal to increase the diversity of visitors.
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MeckPlaybook 2021 Master Plan
Mecklenburg Park & Rec does measure visitation through the Strategic Business Plan, which attempts to compile data on recreational center visitation through registration software. However, there is not a standard approach countywide to collect this data and information about visitation often leaves out crucial park spaces and facilities. In order to understand current use and make decisions about increasing the number and diversity of visitors to recreation centers, nature centers and other facilities, Mecklenburg Park & Rec should develop and implement a standard usage assessment. The assessment should include visitor counts and include regular samples of demographic questionnaires that include questions about home address, household size and needs, and visitation frequency. This not
only allows data points to be compared across facilities but reveals which amenities are overor under-visited and by whom.
13.1 Key Actions Develop and implement a standard usage assessment: •
The assessment should include visitor counts and regular samples of demographic questionnaires about visitation and household details.
