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Administrative Office:
340 E. Hahns Peak Ave.
Pueblo West, Colorado 81007
Ph: (719) 547-7400
Fax: (719) 547-7401
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Parks and Recreation - Goals and Objectives
The Pueblo West Parks and Recreation Department continues to strive to give the best programs, facilities and other amenities to the residents of Pueblo West. Listed below are five goals and objectives that the department has set for itself in regard to continuing needs and interests of our residents.
Goal #1: Provide a wide range of recreational and leisure time opportunities for all residents of Pueblo West.
Objectives:
- Provide 2 acres of neighborhood parks for every 1,000 residents in residential areas with densities greater than 1 unit per acre.
- Provide neighborhood park amenities such as picnic areas, playa areas, benches and walkways in open space tracts at select locations throughout the lower density residential areas of Pueblo West.
- Provide 4 acres of community parks for every 1,000 residents.
- Provide a balance between active sports fields and self-directed activities, naturalized areas, gardens and other elements with broad community interest (e.g., performance spaces/facilities, and areas for special events).
- Develop new facilities/services as well as upgrade existing facilities.
- Provide trails for multiple user groups and design the trails accordingly.
- Provide a variety of park, recreation and open space types that include developed urban parks, natural landscapes, and culturally significant resources, and indoor, year-round recreational facilities.
- Design parks for both active and passive use.
- Ensure that future demands are met through the development of new facilities and services.
- Provide accessible facilities and rehabilitate existing facilities to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Keep abreast of current trends and changing demands for recreational activities by periodically conducting a community-wide survey to determine future needs of the parks and recreation department.
Goal #2: Equitably distribute and conveniently locate parks, recreational facilities and trails throughout Pueblo West.
Objectives:
- Locate neighborhood parks in higher density residential areas (less than 1 acre lots) within 0.5 mile of the neighbors they are intended to serve, and in locations that are comfortably and safely accessible by pedestrians and bicyclists.
- Acquire and develop additional lands as adequately sized neighborhood parks in existing underserved neighborhoods. Where additional land is not feasible, provide safe and convenient pedestrian and bicyclist access to the nearest neighborhood park through construction of sidewalks, improved crossings of roadways and grade separated crossings of barriers if feasible.
- Distribute community parks throughout Pueblo West, generally with 2-mile service radii, and on sites that are accessible by trails, bike lanes and major roadways.
- Centrally locate a recreation center and other facilities that serve large numbers of people on sites with visual and vehicular access from major roadways, and with direct trail connections.
- Locate multi-purpose practice fields for youth sports in neighborhood parks as well as community parks. Size neighborhood park adequately to allow for such uses.
Goal #3: Provide a safe, enjoyable and comprehensive multi-purpose trail system through Pueblo West.
Objectives:
- Identify future trail corridors in greenbelts and other publicly-owned property and easements.
- Locate trails to provide pleasant and safe user experiences and connections to other trail systems, parks, recreational facilities, schools and commercial areas.
- Provide both paved and non-paved trails to accommodate a variety of users.
- Provide a community-wide primary trail system that connects major destinations (e.g., community parks, large open spaces, recreation centers, shopping districts, Lake Pueblo State Park, Etc.) and provides opportunities for 5 to 10-mile trial loops with areas of interest along the route. Use road right-of-way for trails in the absence of other corridors. Place priority on protecting trail corridors and establishing a temporary, natural-surfacing trail over constructing trails to their ultimate design standard. Provide both paved and non-paved trails to accommodate a variety of users.
Goal #4: Develop and maintain parks, trails, recreational facilities and open lands at a high level of quality that is appropriate for the location, the type of use and nature of the facility.
Objectives:
- Incorporate historic and cultural resources and art into park designs to celebrate the unique aspects of the community of Pueblo West and provide distinctiveness between parks.
- Establish maintenance and design standards and management plans for the various types of parks and other properties the District maintains.
- Annually assess needed maintenance and renovation projects system-wide.
- Manage fields to prevent overuse and irreparable damage to playing surfaces.
- Select durable material for construction of new facilities.
- Identify key areas with high quality native vegetation, wetlands or wildlife habitats, and manage to reduce invasive, non-native species.
- Periodically assess satisfaction levels of residents.
- Adequately staff and fund maintenance and operations to increase the level of maintenance to acceptable standards, and adjust staffing levels to keep pace with addition of properties to the system.
Goal #5: Develop and maintain parks, trails, and recreational facilities in an environmentally sensitive manner.
Objectives:
- Place greater emphasis on the use of non-irrigated landscapes, native species and low water-requiring plant materials.
- Preserve areas of high quality natural vegetation.
- Avoid environmentally sensitive areas in locating trails and other developed facilities.
- Protect water quality through implementation of "Best Management Practices" in the design of storm water conveyance and detention facilities.
- Use permeable pavements, recycled materials, locally manufactured products, locally available materials, and low energy requiring facilities and technologies to the greatest extent practicable.
- Provide District residents with information on the benefits of sustainable landscapes through demonstration gardens, backyard wildlife programs and interpretive signage.
- Implement area-specific resource management plans for open spaces that define the appropriate level of public use and ecosystem management strategies.
- Seasonally close areas and trails as warranted to protect sensitive resources.
- Provide for integrated pest management where/when necessary.
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