Wheat Ridge staff present draft Parks & Recreation “Pathway”; residents prioritized trails, aquatics and accessibility

Wheat Ridge staff and consultant Berry Dunn presented a draft Parks & Recreation Pathway on July 7 that summarizes a year of analysis and community outreach and outlines strategic priorities and capital recommendations for the next decade.

Karen O’Donnell, staff lead for the project, introduced the draft and emphasized that it is an early, high‑level version intended to solicit council feedback before a final document is returned for adoption. JR Clanton, project manager for Berry Dunn, outlined the process, which combined extensive public engagement, a statistically valid household survey (414 completed responses), more than 1,000 comment cards gathered at events, and technical facility and operations assessments done with partners Populous, RVI and ETC Institute. Clanton said the team also used aggregated mobility data (Placer AI) to quantify park visitation and dwell time.

Key findings included strong community support for the existing trail network and open space, high participation in recreation programs, and constrained capacity at the recreation center. The consultant reported roughly 765,000 visits across the recreation center and seven parks analyzed with the mobility data; Anderson, Prospect and Discovery parks showed the highest visitation. Accessibility and safety improvements (ADA access, lighting, safer crossings), expanded aquatics access, additional fitness and multi‑use space at the rec center, and improved communications were frequent community requests.

The draft Pathway offers both system‑wide and park‑specific recommendations. System priorities recommended by the consultant are: reinvest in aging facilities and infrastructure; expand and diversify recreation programming; advance aquatics access and sustainability (the report calls out Anderson Pool for potential full replacement and filtration upgrades); strengthen trail and greenway connectivity and safety; increase access, equity and inclusion (including ADA upgrades); pursue strategic acquisitions and partnerships (for example, partnerships with school districts or RTD property acquisitions); and plan for long‑term sustainability and funding.

Facility recommendations include gymnasium, fitness and storage/administrative expansions at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, interior upgrades at the Active Adult Center, and site and access improvements at Anderson Park and Prospect Park (shoreline restoration, pollinator gardens). The consultant said detailed capital costing is underway and expected to be completed in July, after which the full, designed Pathway document will be returned to council for review and adoption.

Councilors praised the outreach and asked clarifying questions about maps and data sources. One councilor asked why community garden sites were treated as outdoor recreation on a map; staff explained the underlying national data source (Trust for Public Land/park inventory) classifies parks the city owns and operates and that some publicly accessible sites not owned by the city (for example, school district fields or privately owned but public-accessible spaces) were not included in that particular dataset. Councilors suggested adding a map that includes all publicly accessible parks and an overlay showing where needs are greatest.

No formal council action was taken; staff sought feedback and will incorporate council input into the final document. Staff also noted potential funding options under review, including grant pursuit, partnerships for land acquisition, and fundraising or naming‑rights conversations for major projects (for example, an outdoor pool), and said they will return with capital cost estimates and a final Pathway for adoption.