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Parks & Open Space Master Plan
Allen Parks and Recreation is hitting the road to share the results of the latest City of Allen Parks and Open Space Master Plan! This document will serve as a guide to staff and City leaders over the next ten years, helping them identify and address the community-wide goals, objectives and needs regarding the existing and future park system based on citizen input.
- Complete the Needs Analysis Poll to help identify Parks and Recreation projects for Tier 1 (1-3 years), Tier 2 (4-5 years) and Tier 3 (6-10 years) planning.
Attend a Master Plan Roadshow
Join us at an upcoming Master Plan Roadshow to learn more about this important map to future park planning and give feedback before the plan is finalized. More dates will be added soon; check back for the full schedule!
Roadshow SCHEDULE
| Allen Noon Rotary Member Meeting January 12 at 12 p.m. |
| Public Art Committee Member Meeting January 18 at 6 p.m. |
| Keep Allen Beautiful Member Meeting January 18 at 6:30 p.m. |
| Allen Sunrise Rotary Member Meeting January 19 at 7 a.m. |
| Allen Economic Development Member Meeting January 19 at 6 p.m. |
| CVB Advisory Board Member Meeting January 21 at 8 a.m. |
| Allen Heritage Guild Member Meeting January 24 at 7 p.m. |
| Allen Senior Recreation Center Advisory Committee Member Meeting January 24 at 5 p.m. |
| Master Plan Town Hall Open Public Meeting January 31 at 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. |
| Library Board Meeting Member Meeting February 1 at 6:30 p.m. |
Kiwanis Club of Allen Member Meeting February 3 at noon |
| Allen Fairview Chamber of Commerce Member Meeting February 9 at 8:30 a.m. |
| Community Development Corporation February 21 at 7 p.m. |
| Parks Board Meeting February 28 at 6:30 p.m. |
Schedule a visit from the Master Plan Roadshow
Don't see your community organization on the list? Host your own Master Plan Roadshow featuring a presentation from Allen Parks and Recreation Director Kate Meacham. Call 214.509.4700 to coordinate.
VIDEO: How to share final Master Plan feedback
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TOWN HALL
Attend the Master Plan Town Hall to learn more and give final feedback on this important roadmap to the future of Allen.
Monday, January 31 | 6:30 p.m.
Allen Senior Recreation Center
451 St. Mary Drive, Allen
Planning Process and Citizen Engagement
The most recent master planning process began in 2019 and included an online survey and focus group meetings to gather feedback directly from Allen residents. The results included:
- 1,460 completed surveys
- 20 focus groups and other input meetings
- Level of Service Analysis comparing existing parks acres to current population
Existing Allen Parks & Recreation System
Citizen Survey
A citizen survey created by National Service Research gathered residents' comments, recommendations and feedback from 1,460 residents about the current and future park system.
A majority (83%) rated the quality of parks and recreation opportunities as "Excellent" or "Good" and nearly 70% of respondents felt parks, recreation and open spaces in Allen are "More Important" today compared to 10 years ago. The survey is statistically valid with a plus or minus 2.6% margin of error and a 95% confidence level.
FIG. 1: Quality of Parks & Recreation Opportunities
FIG. 2: Roles of Parks, Recreation and Open Space
FIG. 1: Data generated by calculating survey responses related to the Quality of Parks & Recreation Opportunities in Allen. Thirty-nine percent of respondents rated opportunities as "Excellent", 44% as "Good", 12% as "Satisfactory" and 5% as "Somewhat Unsatisfactory."
FIG. 2: Data generated by calculating survey responses related to the Roles of Parks, Recreation and Open Space in Allen compared to ten years ago. Sixty-eight percent of respondents rated the role as "More Important", 29% as "Same Importance" and 3% as "Less Important."
Priority Rankings
Survey respondents were asked to provide priority rankings of the most needed facilities in the City of Allen. The following rankings are a calculation of the respondents' priority rankings:
| 1 Add shade to playgrounds for children at neighborhood parks |
| 2 Complete the Rowlett Creek Trail from Plano to McKinney |
| 3 Upgrade undersized and/or damaged trails |
| 4 Acquire land for additional park areas |
| 5 Have special events in parks |
| 6 Improve and enhance the maintenance of park facilities |
| 7 Design and construct a smaller dog park |
| 8 Have trails connect to and throughout the Central Business District |
| 9 Construct sprayground/water splash pads |
| 10 Have a community garden |
| 11 Design and construct a single large dog park |
| 12 Increase the amount of open space along existing creek corridors |
| 13 Have additional practice fields |
| 14 Have additional multipurpose sports fields |
| 15 Have one or more city parks in the Central Business District |
Benchmarking
One major component of the Master Plan is to ensure Allen adequately provides enough parks and acres for our community. The Master Plan final report compared Allen's level of service to nearby benchmark cities by measuring park acres per 1,000 residents.
The report also found that 76% of Allen residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park. The national average is 55%.
Park Acres Per 1,000 Residents
| Richardson 7.2 acres per 1,000 residents |
| Denton 12.6 acres per 1,000 residents |
Allen 14.1 acres per 1,000 residents |
Frisco 15.3 acres per 1,000 residents |
| Plano 15.9 acres per 1,000 residents |
McKinney 17.0 acres per 1,000 residents |
MAP: 10-Minute Walk Campaign (Source: The Trust for Public Land)
Needs Analysis
The Needs Analysis is based on the compilation of many different forms of input: focus group meetings, citizen engagement, a statistically valid survey, the Allen Parks and Recreation Department, the Allen Community Development Corporation, City Staff, National Recreation and Parks Association Metrics and professional opinion.
The following are several high elevation needs that have been identified by the above groups and the citizen survey:
- Aging parks and facilities should be upgraded and renovated to keep Allen's park system up to local standards and safe for all users. This includes ensuring all public parks and facilities are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and local building codes, etc. as specific parks are redeveloped.
- Construction and maintenance of dog park (Jupiter Park - 2023)
- Existing play structures that have surpassed their life-cycle should be replaced.
- Existing undeveloped City-owned properties should be developed as parks and/or trail corridors.
- An additional indoor recreation center is needed in the northwest region of the City. (Stephen G. Terrell Recreation Center in construction 2021)
- Continue the high level of maintenance at existing and future parks for safety, accessibility and the aesthetically pleasing environment provided for the citizens
- Additional trails should be constructed to make meaningful links for connectivity within and throughout the community.
- Additional sports practice fields and game fields are needed throughout the City.
- Support facilities such as shade structures, restrooms and parking lots are needed within existing and new developments.
- Consider implementing unique forms of recreation such as water courses and mountain bike trails
- High quality, natural areas should be preserved as natural open space as mature wooded areas along creeks and their tributaries
Taking into account our citizen survey, needs analysis and other findings in the Master Plan, we are now undertaking the development of an implementation plan that will be incorporated into the final Master Plan.
- Complete a Needs Analysis Poll to help identify Parks and Recreation projects for Tier 1 (1-3 years), Tier 2 (4-5 years) and Tier 3 Planning (6-10 years)