Public Space Management Plan: A History

The City is rethinking the way it approaches public space. This includes parks, sidewalks, parking spaces, plazas, streeteries, and more. This is all happening through the creation of a Public Space Management Plan, which will help City Council and staff make better decisions about projects involving public space. The plan is expected to be completed in Fall 2022, but it’s been in the works for a while. Here’s a summary of what’s been done to date!

• November 2018: The City Council agrees on the need for a public space plan and approves a scope of work.
• Fall 2019 to Summer 2020: Planning Division staff conduct studies of public park features, levels of resident access to parks, and an inventory of public spaces. [The planning process is delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.]
• Fall 2020 to Fall 2021: Community input is gathered in the form of an online survey (225 respondents) and an in-person, interactive workshop series.
• Spring 2022: The City hires the planning firm CHPlanning to help complete the project.
• Summer 2022: CHPlanning conducts an existing conditions analysis and develops the first draft of plan recommendations. Outreach during this time includes:
  • Additional stakeholder focus groups to improve input from voices not yet well-represented in planning outreach, including youth, apartment, and condo building residents, and
    cross-departmental City Staff
  • Two community workshops (including the one to unveil the draft).
• Fall 2022 (upcoming): CHPlanning will continue to gather community feedback on the first draft and develop a final set of recommendations to be reviewed and delivered to City Council for approval.

To learn more about the Public Space Management Plan, visit the Public Space Management Plan webpage,  and join us on August 23 for our next public meeting.

This article was featured in the August 2022 Newsletter. Visit the Takoma Park Newsletter webpage to see the full list of past newsletters.