Preseason Inventory and Assessment It is essential to clearly understand the condition of the open space and facility network. Such knowledge prioritizes both short-term and long-term investment and reinvestment in targeted ways. To this aim, an on-the-ground inventory and assessment of parks, greenway trails, nature preserves, open spaces, historic sites, and sports and recreation facilities was conducted. The inventory included furnishings, accessibility, wayfinding, and signage. Both quantitative and qualitative data was used to compare Mecklenburg’s assets. Quantitative data included the count of amenities, like playgrounds, recreation centers, restrooms, and seating, while the qualitative assessments graded the condition, function, and design of each space using an A-F rating system. To conduct the inventory and assessment, a dozen members of the Meck Playbook team, including Department staff and the consultant team, visited spaces from October 2019 through February 2020.
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MeckPlaybook 2021 Master Plan
Recognizing the subjective nature of the qualitative assessments, the team ran internal trainings and cross-checked scores at various milestones with the County staff to ensure consistency. The team used an online geospatial tool, ArcCollector, to catalogue the inventory. This platform was selected because it allowed the team to add data to County’s existing GIS framework from the field in real-time. The inventory provides a snapshot of the conditions today, which – in conjunction with staff and community input – inform the strategies set forth in this master plan. The inventory is not intended to be a static document frozen in 2020. Instead, it is a malleable online tool that must be updated regularly by Department staff to remain relevant and effective. It will be critical to update the inventory, in order to benchmark progress, identify emergent gaps/issues, and prioritize future investment (See Strategy 2.1 for more detail).
Key Findings Levels of investment, programming, and maintenance vary greatly across parks, facilities, and greenway trails. In general, large parks, preserves, and greenways, which were the original focus of the County’s park department, are in excellent or good condition, are safe, and have a lot to offer (See Figure 1.11). Most often, these types of places are newer, like Harrisburg Road Sportsplex. Contrastingly, many park properties built by the City prior to 1992, including neighborhood parks and recreation facilities (See Figures 1.12 and 1.13), need updates. Devonshire Park is a good example. These spaces are often older, very well-loved, and in neighborhoods with dense activity and high use. Many of these parks have not seen recent substantial Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) or community led investment beyond the replacement of amenities. In addition, limitedaccess parkland on the edges of the County, as
