A younger point of view needed

One of the largest groups of Bellevue park users are children, youth and teens. Yet, when we go through one of these planning processes to set the direction for park development for the next ten years, who do we hear from the most? Adults.

Do you know what that means? Well, let me show you. Here are pictures of the bike, skateboard and tennis racket that I grew up with. So, the guy who owned these (me) is the same one who is writing this plan and most of the people I am hearing from had similar, if not more antiquated, sporting goods when they were young.

Biking, skateboarding and tennis are still going strong as popular sports, but definitely not in the same way as a couple decades ago. So, if you are a teenager or young adult, I would greatly appreciate it if you would read the other posts on this blog and add your comments, so that we can have a well-rounded discussion with many points of view represented.

As long as we are on the subject, here are some links to a few of the City's existing youth and teen programs. Some you may know about, some you may not. Youth Link is a youth leadership program - there is the award-winning Bellevue Youth Theatre - users of the Bellevue's Skate Parks have set up a blog here - and you can find out about youth sports and the TRACKS outdoor education programs as well.

**Just in case you don’t know, that wooden frame thing over the tennis racket head was supposed to keep the racket from warping. Unless you wanted to be laughed at, you’d take if off before you play.

Learning by Example

The Parks & Open Space System Plan update gives the community a chance to step back and look at the parks system as a whole. According to public opinion surveys, overall satisfaction with parks and recreation in Bellevue is consistently rated good or excellent by the vast majority of Bellevue residents (usually somewhere just above or below 90%). This tells us that we are generally on the right track and we want to keep it that way into the future.

One way to stay relevant is to see what other communities have done with their park system and recreation programs. In your travels, either to neighboring cities or around the world, what parks have you seen that you thought were excellent? What made them excellent? Was it an outstanding facility, or view, or recreation feature? In other words, what models should we look to as we seek to add to and improve Bellevue’s parks over time? In addition to your comments, if you have a photograph you’d like to share, please e-mail it to me at cparker@bellevuewa.gov.

Commenting on Specific Park Development Projects

In reviewing the comments that have come in so far, I’ve noticed that a few people would like to comment on specific park projects that are underway. The City has several active projects at this time. Each is described in more detail at the Park Planning and Development page on the City’s website.

If you have a comment about a current park development project, the best place to make that comment is by phone or e-mail to the staff working on that project. Using the link above, you can find the appropriate contact information and go straight to the source to get your questions answered and provide your opinion.

The other significant benefit of contacting the project manager is that they can collect your contact information and make sure that you are included on the mailing list for updates on that project as it progresses over time. We are not able to do that with blog comments since there is no contact information attached.

So again, project specific comments are best addressed to that project. That said, if using this blog is a convenient way for you to comment on a project other than the Parks & Open Space System Plan, feel free to e-mail me directly at cparker@bellevuewa.gov or use this comment box below. Once your comment is submitted, I will forward it to the appropriate person.

For those who have already made park project comments that were attached to other posts, I’ve grouped those comments here and they have also been forwarded to the appropriate project manager.

How do you find parks, classes and special event information?

What do you do when you want to branch out and find a new park to visit? Do you ask your friends and neighbors for suggestions? Do you call City Hall? Is there a web page you turn to regularly? Do you just get in the car or on your bike and go until you find something green?

What if you are looking for something to do with your kids the weekend after next? Or, maybe your son or daughter expresses a sudden interest in a drama lessons – or you decide you’ve always wanted to learn to play Bridge and would like to take a class?

This can be more complicated than it sounds, especially in East King County, where one street can cross several city boundary lines.

Most cities in East King County have a strong web presence on www.myparksandrecreation.com. If you haven’t visited this site before, I recommend it. You can find parks, trails and recreation classes for most cities listed together, allowing you to compare all kinds of information and find just what you are looking for. I know of some other sites as well – many geared toward specific population groups. I happen to have young children, so I’ll often visit www.rubyslipperguide.com or www.parentmap.com to look for things to do with kids.

Please take a moment to comment and tell us how you get information on parks and recreation opportunities now. If describing a web page, please include a link. How do you think this will change in the future? How or where do you think Bellevue Parks & Community Services should get information out about our parks, classes and special events?

What would you like to see more of in Bellevue’s parks system?

This is one of the more important questions we are posing to the community, so it makes sense that this is our first discussion question for the blog. In ten years, what should Bellevue’s park system look like? How can we continue to best serve our park users? Do you think there should be more of certain types of parks or less of others?

All communities are subject to change over time and Bellevue is no exception. Our challenge is to anticipate those changes and adjust accordingly. Here are some facts to consider. Over the next decade:

• Bellevue’s growth in population will come predominantly in the form of higher density housing located in places like downtown Bellevue and in a redeveloping Bel-Red corridor.
• The average age of Bellevue’s resident population will increase as Baby Boomers make older adults a larger percentage of the overall population.
• Bellevue’s overall racial and ethnic make-up will continue to diversify.

These are certainly not the only ways that the Bellevue community will change over the next ten years. However, you can see that each might have its own impact on the demand for specific types of park and park facilities.

So, what do you think? Over time, what do you think we will need more of, in regard to parks? What may we not need anymore? What elements of the park system are so fundamental, that you don’t expect to see any change at all?

What should we talk about?

This is place to come if you are reading through the posts and don’t see the topic you would like addressed. Leave your comment here with your idea and we will consider it for a future post.

Welcome Part II – About Parks & Community Services

Hopefully, you have read the Welcome – Part I post and are interested in learning a little more (or seeing how much you already know) about Bellevue Parks & Community Services.

The mission of Bellevue Parks & Community Services is posted at the right and repeated here:

We build a healthy community through an integrated system of exceptional parks, open space, recreation, cultural arts and human services.

As the mission implies, Bellevue Parks & Community Services is interested and involved in all kinds of issues – most of which revolve around the concept of sustainability. We are focused on environmental sustainability, managing a system of parks and open spaces within Bellevue which are instrumental in maintaining our community’s air and water quality. We are also focused on social sustainability, offering programs and services designed to promote healthy lifestyles. Many of these programs serve the general population, but we also place special emphasis on program and services for youth, older adults, individuals with disabilities and households with low-and moderate-incomes.

Can you guess how many acres of parks are managed by the City of Bellevue? For that and more interesting facts about what we do, click here.

Welcome Part I – About this Blog

Hi, and welcome to the blog for Bellevue Parks & Community Services. This is a discussion for and about the City of Bellevue’s parks and open space system and the community services and programs offered by Bellevue Parks & Community Services.

This blog acts as one way for Bellevue parks users to communicate their ideas for the long-range development of the parks system. Your comments will help the City of Bellevue update a long-range management plan. This plan projects ten years ahead and sets a direction for future development of parks and open space. It also considers the design and balance of programs and services supported by the department and how those may change over time to meet community needs.

The City cannot plan for the future without hearing from the people who use our services and perhaps more importantly, people who currently do not use our services. So, I would appreciate your participation and opinions on the topics being discussed.

Here’s how it works. From now until the end of 2009, I will post entries focused on a specific topic related to parks, recreation or community services in Bellevue. With every post, you will be invited to comment on that topic. All comments received will be recorded and considered as we develop our long-range planning goals. In addition to this blog, public input will be gathered in other ways as well – through surveys, presentations to community groups and other methods. Whenever a new opportunity to become involved comes up – I will post the details here.

As you consider what comments you would like to make, keep in mind that this blog will be a little more formal than most. It will be moderated. That means that you are free (and encouraged) to comment either positively or negatively, but all comments must be directly related to the post to which they are attached and all the normal rules of civility apply. Comments that don’t meet these criteria will not be posted. When you do submit your comment, don’t be alarmed if it isn’t posted immediately. As with all moderated discussions, there will be a time delay. Also, new topics will be introduced just a couple times a month, so I’d suggest subscribing to the feeds from this site so that you don’t have to check back looking for new content. If you subscribe, when something new comes up you’ll get an alert.

And finally – what if the topic you want to discuss isn’t raised? Well, you have two choices. You can leave your idea as a comment on the post entitled “What should we talk about?” or e-mail me your idea directly. To e-mail me, click on the Camron @ Bellevue Parks link under the Contributor tab at the right.