GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – Greenville City Council on Tuesday approved the Recreation and Parks Department’s master plan. The plan lays out some goals and objectives for the department during the next 10 years.

“Over the past 10 months, departments and consultants have been working on a master plan,” said Mark Nottingham, the city’s parks planner. “It covers everything from facilities to programs.”

Nottingham said the Recreation and Parks Department listened to citizens to build this plan.

“We had an online survey, we also randomly mailed surveys so we can get a statistically valid survey,” Nottingham said. “We had public workshops, stakeholder meetings and focus groups.”

During that process, they heard what citizens want.

“A lot of people were focusing on trails,” he said. “That was the number one most requested amenity.”

Nottingham also said they’re already working on some of those requests.

“We have a couple of active trail projects at Wildwood Park,” Nottingham added. “We’re connecting the east side and west side underneath the highway at Wildwood Park. We’re also building a pedestrian bridge there.”

The plan is also looking at the need for different outdoor facilities.

“Prior to the plan, we only had one outdoor pickleball court,” Nottingham said. “The plan did recognize that need based on national recreation and parks assessments and standards.”

Now that Greenville’s city council has approved the plan, they’re hoping to start on other projects.

“That’s going to allow us to move the objectives forward and when we ask for projects to receive funding,” he said. “We’ll be able to point back to the plan and have that documented. It will also help us greatly when we apply for grants to fund recreation projects.”

The plan also includes details on the city’s population numbers. The department said they’re working to make sure facilities and needs match that.

“As the city continues to grow and expand into undeveloped areas, it’s going to be important to utilize that plan to incorporate parks and facilities in those new areas,” he said.

You can view the full plan at this link.