Close your eyes and visualize Holly Springs in about ten years. Do you see friends enjoying the great outdoors through new parks and greenways, active adults learning to paint, or young children enjoying a splash pad in the summer? The Town of Holly Springs is embarking on a quest to identify long-term priorities for parks, programs, greenways, preservation, maintenance and funding as part of the work on a new Parks, Recreation and Greenways Master Plan.
“What we want to make clear is that this plan is not just for those interested in athletics or for those individuals who currently participate in Parks and Recreation programs,” said Matt Beard, Holly Springs Parks and Recreation Park Planner. “It’s a plan for everyone. We want our master plan to reflect our community.”
In order to make sure to receive feedback from current participants as well as non-participants, the town will be conducting public outreach meetings, sending online surveys, hosting pop-up trunk shows throughout town and organizing focus groups for different ages and interests. Originally, the first information gathering open house was scheduled for the end of March, but due to the spread of COVID-19, it has been postponed until mass gatherings are safe for the community.
The ultimate goal of the process is to create a plan that gets used every time the town is able to embark on a new park development, recreation program or greenway connection. The plan will act as a guide to help elected officials identify needs and strategies for acquisition, development and administration of a sustainable system. But that doesn’t mean you can’t dream big. Now is the time to have your voices heard about how you envision the future quality of life in Holly Springs with parks and recreation amenities, programs and services.
“We want this plan to help create a desirable lifestyle in Holly Springs for the next ten years,” said Beard. “We want more options for recreation close to where people live, but we also want more opportunities for safe interaction with nature through preserved open space. Through this plan, Holly Springs will continue to set an example for communities around us through thoughtful and innovative programming to support many interests.”
For the latest on how to provide input on the Holly Springs Parks, Recreation and Greenways Master Plan, as well as to find out about other projects in the works, please visit the Parks and Recreation projects page at www.hollyspringsnc.us/550/projects.
