20 - Year Growth Plan - City of Kendleton

Section 9.0 Parks and Recreation9.3 Park Accessibility StandardsAs discussed briefly in Section 4.1, the most accepted measurement of required parkacreage for communities are the NRPA guidelines, which specify the number of parkacres needed per 1,000 residents. By acreage, the 254 acres of existing parks more thanadequately serve the residents of Kendleton. Judged by distance from homes andneighborhoods however, less than half of the residents of Kendleton are within NRPAguidelines for a walkable distance to recreational land use. Maintenance is a significantyearly expense for jurisdictions to incur, be it on infrastructure like sewer lines or onparks. Proposing new park facilities simply to place them near existing homes makeslittle fiscal sense and even less common sense due to the size of the two existing parks.Table 9-A. NRPA Park GuidelinesType Size / Acres Service Area Acres per 1,000PopulationMini-Park 2,5000 sf – 1 Acre Less than ¼ miledistance in residentialsettingVariableNeighborhoodParkCommunityPark1 – 15 Acres One neighborhood ¼to ½ mile radius16 – 99 Acres Several neighborhoods2 mile radius1.0 – 2.0 Acres5.0 – 8.0 AcresRegional Park 100 – 499 Acres Several communitiesVariableunder 1 hour drivingSpecial UseAreasVaries No applicable standard VariableGreenways /Linear ParkNaturalResourceAreasSufficient width to protect thenatural resource and providemaximum useResource availability andopportunityNo applicable standardVariableVariableVariableSource:1National Recreation and Park Association (NPRA)9.4 Future Park LinkageA more responsible idea is to better link residential areas to the parks by constructingmulti-use trails along thoroughfares and use the natural features in Kendleton such asBrooks Branch to facilitate alternative transportation modes. Multi-use trails on BrooksBranch and along the San Bernard River can easily allow pedestrians, horses, andbicyclists to travel under US 59, linking the two parks together, better connecting thenorthern and southern halves of the City, and allowing more residents to be withinwalking distance of recreational facilities.9.5 References1Open Space Standards and Guidelines. National Recreation and Park Association. 4 th Printing.1990.56 City of Kendleton