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County parks officials brief Hyattsville on Formula 2040 update and local outreach
Summary
Prince George's County parks staff presented the Formula 2040 functional master‑plan update, reported outreach to nearly all municipalities, highlighted trail and Wi‑Fi gains and $25 million in federal grants, and invited Hyattsville residents to upcoming surveys and engagement sessions.
Representatives from the Maryland‑National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation presented an update on Formula 2040, the countywide functional master plan for parks and recreation.
Don Herring (park planner for the southern area) said Formula 2040 focuses on three goals — connectivity, economic impact and health and wellness — and reviewed accomplishments since 2019, including about 22 miles of new natural‑surface trails, trail improvements to 7.5 miles, community Wi‑Fi at roughly 110 park facilities, and roughly $25 million in federal grants won since 2019. "We want to make sure that this is a living, breathing document," Herring said, describing 10 objectives, 22 strategies and approximately 122 action items under review.
Malene "Molly" Jackson, project co‑lead, and consultant Amal Deshpande described outreach the team has done with nearly all county municipalities and said the update is concentrated on refining action items (land acquisition policy, level‑of‑service standards, equity and programming) rather than rewriting core goals. Officials said they will coordinate Formula 2040 engagement with the Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan (LPPRP) and will run an online and statistically valid survey to collect resident input.
Hyattsville councilors asked about trail safety (lighting, call boxes, snow clearance in transit districts), multi‑generational facility planning and how the county measures service area needs. Staff said some safety features already exist on commuter trails and that the county is reviewing level‑of‑service language to guide placements of call boxes, lighting and other infrastructure.
Next steps: staff will share the 2024 progress report and schedule targeted engagement on service‑area priorities; Hyattsville staff and the Youth Advisory Council were encouraged to participate in targeted outreach around parks activation and a planned survey.
