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Parks and Recreation begins update to Plan to Play; deferred maintenance estimated at $215 million
Summary
Metro Parks and Recreation said it is updating the countywide Plan to Play master plan (originally completed in 2017), has opened public engagement with more than 1,200 initial survey responses, and identified an estimated $215,000,000 in deferred maintenance across the park system.
Tim Naech, representing Metro Parks and Recreation, told the Sustainability Advisory Committee that the department has begun a 2025 update to Plan to Play, the countywide parks and greenways master plan first completed in 2017.
The update will not replace the 2017 plan but will build on its recommendations, Neach said, focusing on what was missed in 2017 and how the city should prioritize parks investments moving forward. "We're looking at all of the recommendations from 2017, and looking at them as kind of benchmarks or measures for how we're doing," Neach said.
Parks staff held an initial round of public meetings in early June across four compass quadrants and an additional central meeting, and opened an online survey with an interactive map that remains open through July. Neach said the department had received more than 1,200 survey responses at the time of the presentation. The process will include demand and needs analysis, stakeholder interviews and a condition assessment of Metro facilities; the condition assessment will continue into 2026.
Neach said one of the plan's prominent findings is a substantial deferred maintenance backlog. "Already, the current estimate of deferred maintenance in the park system is $215,000,000," he said. He added that the county's level of service measured as acres of park land per capita has declined since 2017 because population growth has outpaced land acquisition.
The draft update will be organized around land, facilities, greenways, programs, operations and funding. During public engagement the department will weigh priorities between protecting existing assets and system expansion, Neach said, and will present preliminary recommendations to the public this fall. The department expects to complete the update in the first quarter of 2026.
Neach said the update will include a more robust greenways component and new design guidance for playground shade; he noted Fort Negley as an upcoming depaving and restoration project that will convert several acres to lawns and grassland as part of a master‑plan implementation.
Neach told the committee parks staff will continue to coordinate with the planning department and private developers to secure greenway easements and other privately owned public spaces as the city densifies.
He asked the committee to help spread information about the survey and public meetings and to share feedback during the forthcoming public engagement rounds.
