Milton Park System Comprehensive Plan
Incorporated on December 1, 2006, the City of Milton is a distinctive community that embraces small-town life and heritage while preserving and enhancing the city’s rural character. Located just minutes from GA 400 in north Fulton County, the City prides itself as being a rural paradise. The City of Milton Parks and Recreation Department develops and maintains a system of parks and recreational resources to welcome visitors and enhance the well-being of Milton residents. In order to meet the needs of a growing population and to continue to make the city an attractive place to call home for residents and businesses alike, the City of Milton initiated the development of Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan in the Summer of 2017,engaging Barge Design Solutions, Inc., along with the planners at PROS Consulting and the ETC Institute. This assignment also included master planning Providence Park, an existing 42-acre passive recreation city park in Milton.
The planning team set level of service standards, prioritization of needs, facility and program recommendations, and preparation of the implementation plan including the vision and mission for park land and trails, facilities, programming and operating, and staffing. The planning process revealed a need for more programming around youth sports and active fitness. This led to a key component of this project: the integration of Fulton County Schools recreation facilities into the level of service for the department through joint use agreements with the school system. This expanded the city access to active park facilities without the immediate need for additional land acquisition. While most of the plan recommendations require long-term solutions, this joint use agreement demonstrates that some areas of improvement in the short-term can be accomplished with enhanced partnerships with foundations, governmental partners, school districts, and the development community.
To more fully inform the community’s current needs for parks, trails, and green space, the Barge team completed a demographic analysis, program assessment, administrative, and financial review. Furthermore, several public outreach opportunities were coordinated throughout the planning process, including surveys, interviews with stakeholders, and public input meetings to establish the plan’s vision and guiding principles for the following decade.