Bucks County Commissioners unanimously voted at a regular business meeting Wednesday to adopt a comprehensive recreation, parks and open space plan.
The plan, which has been about six years in the making, had not been updated in decades, according to Bob Harvie, vice chairman of Bucks County Commissioners.
A “bold, forward-looking vision” protects natural resources, strengthens community well-being and responds directly to needs of residents, according to Angela Nagle, director of Bucks County Parks and Recreation Department.
Bucks County’s park system is made up of 17 county-owned and operated parks and three leased sites. These make up 6,161 acres with an additional 3,000 plus acres of county properties and open space, Nagle said.
Public input from residents, environmental groups and other stakeholders was received prior to the January 21 presentation.
Long overdue maintenance, strategic improvement and sustained investment to continue to serve the county’s roughly 646,000 residents are key components of the plan, she said.
“Protecting our environment and parks and recreation system should be important to everyone who lives in Bucks County – and in the state of Pennsylvania,” said Republican Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo.
The informational discovery process, which involved residents, environmental groups and stakeholders, revealed that Bucks County residents want well-maintained parks, improved access to use them, stronger environmental stewardship and a modernized system that keeps pace with growing demands.
“They want safe, welcoming areas connected to surrounding communities; and the county to protect natural and historic resources that make Bucks County such a special place to live,” Nagle said.
“Our strong local support mirrors national trends. More than 90% of U.S. adults view parks and recreation as essential government services,” she explained.
According to the plan, goals include:
· Accessibility for all users and visitors.
· Inclusive and equitable facilities.
· Educational programs.
· A network to build recreational skills and develop vocational capacity for future staffing.
· Set conservation and sustainability benchmarks to achieve over time.
· Improved partnership coordination between county, municipal, volunteer, non-profit and third party service providers.
· An alignment with the Bucks2040 Vision Plan.
The Bucks2040 Vision Plan “establishes plan principles, key issues and common ideas of importance and sets the stage for the actions we will take to meet future challenges.”
The newly approved comprehensive plan “gives Bucks County a clear roadmap to strengthen our parks, protect our natural resources and expand access for every resident and every visitor,” Nagle said.
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Karen Ogden, a watershed specialist for Bucks County Conservation District, served on the comprehensive steering committee.
She said sound water and land use “is important to the conservation district. [This is] a launching point for the county to recognize this land’s large mass is crucial to water management.”
“This is a massive project, and the fourth largest park system in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It’s been decades since anything like this has been attempted. After the 2019 election more than 75 people were brought together and one of those tasks was to look at the park system,” Harvie explained.
Harvie said the “long range plan” is a continuation of the [transition] plan started in 2020 to look at the county’s network of park systems and properties.
The Bucks County Comprehensive Recreation, Parks and Open Space Plan is available here.
