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165 <br />Planned Park System <br />Recreation Districts <br />Most residents cherish their park system. Given the choice, most would like more parks, especially <br />near their homes. However, financial priorities continue to challenge city leadership to build and <br />manage a park system that meets those desires, yet meet the financial obligations to build and <br />maintain these improvements. Currently, the overall amount of acreage devoted to Ramsey's park <br />and open space system is over 1,800 acres, or approximately 10% of the of the City's 28 square <br />miles. Given this large available area, the focus is on using these spaces wisely and connecting them <br />effectively. <br />The gap between the desire for more parks and the stark reality of limited annual maintenance <br />funding calls for a strategy to plan a system of interconnected parks and trails distributed <br />reasonably and equitably throughout the community. Ramsey can achieve this goal by viewing <br />Ramsey's park system as divided into ten 'Recreation Districts.' These districts are delineated by <br />major roadways or other barriers and provide a means for more effective planning in determining <br />future park needs at the scale of larger groups of neighborhoods (see map below). <br />A broad overview of the existing park system in Ramsey reveals a number of small, underutilized <br />park spaces scattered throughout rural areas of the community. These low -density (or large lot) <br />developments do not support high use of a neighborhood park system and thus can lead to <br />inefficiencies. Larger scale community parks, which would provide park and recreation <br />opportunities not available within private yards or large lots, would prove a more effective and <br />efficient use of a park and recreation system for these areas, and at the same time serve both rural <br />and urban areas of Ramsey —especially if well connected by trails or greenways. <br />It should be clarified that these Recreation Districts are not only a planning tool, but are an <br />organizing structure of aggregating neighborhoods in order to interconnect them with the 'Circle of <br />Ramsey' greenway. This greenway encircles the community, while connecting each Recreation <br />District to each other, as well as to destinations like retail areas, schools, and workplaces. <br />Using the structure of the Recreation Districts, it is evident that there are relatively few developed <br />neighborhood parks in the northern third of the city. This, coupled with the need for additional <br />spaces for a growing youth athletic program, suggests the need for a sixth community park in the <br />north central part of the city. The remaining major emphases in the rural area of Ramsey should be, <br />first, to provide trail connections to connect people to larger park facilities and destinations such as <br />Central Park, Elmcrest, and Rum River Central Regional Park and, second, to preserve open space <br />corridors consistent with a more rural land use. This approach is also consistent with the refrain <br />heard throughout the public engagement process of the Comprehensive Plan: strive to find the <br />"balance of rural and urban character." <br />In urban districts, this same approach is not effective. Higher density development demands more <br />parks that are within walking distance of homes and provide a greater variety of activities. It would <br />be prudent to start more detailed planning for the provision of neighborhood parks in future urban <br />areas as well as looking to fill gaps in existing urban developed areas. As traffic patterns become <br />denser within the urban areas, more neighborhood barriers may occur and further accentuate the <br />need for more neighborhood park facilities. Trail, sidewalk, and greenway development is a <br />cily of RAMSEY <br />August 2018 Draft <br />Comprehensive Plan 2040 <br />