Lethbridge city council is asking residents for input on a parks master plan

Residents of Lethbridge are being asked to take an online survey to pick their priorities for park and outdoor recreation services. 

The city is working on replacing the city's 15-year-old parks plan, and they want residents' input for a new parks master plan. The survey also includes feedback on the existing parks' system.

The collected data will guide the plan for the next 15-20 years. 

"We're looking for some feedback on our park system, both on how people view it today and how they would like to see it in future," said Chris Witkowski, the city's parks planning manager. 

"We have some questions around different amenities that can go into parks, naturalization, development, size of the park, maintenance, accessibility, inclusivity."

Witkowski said the proposed budget of the city will affect the plan positively but refused to elaborate since it has not been ratified. 

The previous plan was established in 2007, and one of the main agendas was to find park space allocation and to find a main regional park. 

The city park system includes a river valley park network and three regional parks, one completed as part of the last master plan — Legacy Regional Park in north Lethbridge. 

"This plan is looking at more of our amenities and service levels, the last plan was looking at park space allocation," Witkowski said. 

Lethbridge has 130 parks and natural areas. 

Witkowski said the city is focusing on community input to understand the needs of the public and their vision for the city's future. 

"A lot of previous plans and improvements we are making are based on community input. So we think this is just one more step to get some great information to build a better park system." 

He said providing outdoor amenities and services and involving the public during the holiday season is exciting for him. 

"It's the season of giving! If the public can give us some great feedback, we will give them a great park system." 

The survey is available online, and can be requested in print form on the City of Lethbridge website. The last date to submit responses is Dec. 16. 

An in-person consultation about the plan will take place in January of next year.