Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan

Play It Forward. Imagine the future of Kirkland's parks, recreation, and open spaces.

During 2021 and 2022, the Parks and Community Services Department gathered community input and updated our Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan. City Council adopted the Plan by resolution at their September 20, 2022 meeting.

 

About the PROS Plan

The Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan is a six-year guide and strategic plan for managing and enhancing park and recreation services. It provides a vision for Kirkland’s park and recreation system and establishes a path forward for providing high quality, community-driven parks, trails, open spaces and recreational opportunities. The PROS Plan creates a framework that will allow the City to respond to new opportunities as they arise, and to ensure that parks, facilities and recreation programs meet the needs of Kirkland’s residents, employees and visitors now and into the future.

The City of Kirkland updated the PROS Plan in 2021-2022. The PROS Plan was fully updated to reflect substantial growth and changes in the community and to the park system. Three additional scopes of work were conducted and integrated into the PROS Plan:

  • Community needs assessment
  • ADA evaluation and transition plan
  • Athletic field use and demand analysis study

Community Conversations

Event    Date/Time    Presentation    Video    FAQ Comments 
1st Community Conversation - Info Gathering   June 17, 2021 at 6:30 PM    PROS Plan 1st Community Conversation Presentation.pdf(PDF, 2MB)     1st Community Conversation Video    FAQ Comments from Community Conversation(PDF, 70KB)  
               
2nd Community Conversation - Findings Presentation   December 15, 2021 at 6:30 PM
  PROS Plan 2nd Community Conversation Presentation(PDF, 8MB)   2nd Community Conversation Video     
                 
Draft PROS Plan Public Hearing   May 25, 2022 at 7:00 PM   PROS Plan Presentation to Park Board(PDF, 5MB)   Park Board Meeting Recordings    

Americans with Disabilities Act Evaluation and Transition Plan

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) evaluation was performed by Bureau Veritas as part of the PROS Plan update using methods and procedures consistent with good commercial and customary practice for assessing compliance with the Title II provisions of the ADA and applicable state and local requirements. The ADA Transition Plan serves as a pragmatic application tool that identifies existing and future accessibility needs, document accessibility facility standards, and provide design criteria for future facilities development. Accessibility assessments were conducted at 52 parks and facilities. This report includes summary tables of identified barriers with associated costs.

City of Kirkland Parks and Community Services ADA Title II Transition Plan(PDF, 2MB)

Athletic Field Use and Demand Analysis Study

A survey was completed by several athletic field stakeholder groups in August 2021 and the resulting data will be used to provide recommendations regarding the use of fields, reconfiguration of current fields, and the construction of new fields to meet demand. Improvements to the field allocation process will also be addressed to improve equity and meet the unmet needs of users that are not currently being served. Preliminary findings were presented at the City Council Study Session on October 5, 2021.

Kirkland Athletic Fields Analysis City Council Briefing(PDF, 2MB)

Preliminary recommendations and survey results were presented to survey participants and athletic field stakeholder groups on January 19, 2022.

Kirkland Athletic Fields Analysis 2nd Presentation 1-19-22(PDF, 3MB)

Supplemental Info from Kirkland Athletic Fields Analysis 2nd Presentation(PDF, 9MB)

Community Needs Assessment Survey

The purpose of the community needs assessment survey was to gather community feedback on Kirkland parks, recreation facilities, amenities, future planning, communication and more. In September 2021, GreenPlay LLC in conjunction with RRC Associates mailed 4,864 postcards and 4,822 statistically valid surveys to Kirkland community members to get the needs and opinions of both non-users and users of parks, recreation facilities, and programs in the community. A total of 656 invitation surveys were completed with a /- 3.8% Margin of Error.

A follow-up "open link" survey where the rest of the community was encouraged to respond was made available to the entire community in October 2021. A total of 2,345 open link surveys were completed by community members. This survey research effort and subsequent analysis were designed to assist in the development of a PROS Plan that reflects the community's needs and desires.

PROS Plan Community Needs Assessment Report(PDF, 8MB)

Open-Ended Comments from Community Needs Assessment(PDF, 1MB)

Off-Leash Areas for Dogs

On Wednesday, September 29, 2021, community members were invited to attend a virtual community conversation meeting about off-leash areas for dogs.

How do you want to play in Kirkland?  Throughout 2021, we hosted focus groups, interviews, community conversations and survey opportunities so that, as a community, we can imagine the future of Kirkland’s parks, recreation and open spaces.

Together, let’s play it forward!