Bend Park and Rec eyes park, trail, indoor rec projects

The Bend Park and Recreation District has drafted dozens of project priorities for new, expanded or upgraded parks, trails and indoor recreation facilities.

Some of the updates include four new soccer fields at Pine Nursery Park, public parking at the Cedarwood trailhead, repairing part of the Central Oregon Historic Canal Trail and constructing the Goodrich neighborhood park.

The district used public feedback to begin this draft of project priorities. Park planner Quinn Keever said Tuesday evening most of the projects are fairly flexible, but the district still needs a procedural plan for the 60-plus projects it hopes to undertake.

“We had a lot of community outreach for this project, and we heard some key things from the community, such as serving high-density neighborhoods and serving areas that currently don’t have access to a park and making sure that we are capitalizing on partnerships, things of that nature,” Keever said. “The projects were scored against those evaluation criteria, of which there were six total.”

The comprehensive plan is not completed. This is still a draft that will be included in the finished plans.

Another important and ongoing update concerns Big Sky Park on the Eastside of Bend.

The current park is 96 acres and a proposed update would allow the district to add a wider range of recreational opportunities to park goers.

Some of the amenities in this project include added parking, new tracks at the bike park, bike trail areas and new trail connections to Buckingham Elementary School.

The district’s landscape architect, Perry Brooks, said they want to make the park more cohesive, safe and accessible for all the varieties of people and groups who use it.

“The first master plan was done 20 years ago, and it had a lot more ball fields and tennis courts, and the recreational needs of the community have changed,” Brooks said. “We are just trying to respond to those recreational changes in the community.”

The district said wants to start construction by the late summer or early fall of this year.

For more information on what the comprehensive plan is all about: http://www.bendparksandrec.org/current_projects/planning-for-play-comp-plan/