The City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department is pleased to present to you the 2019-2029 SA Parks System Plan.  This system plan will guide future planning decisions about expansion, capital improvements and programming of the more than 250 City-owned parks and recreational facilities, 16,000 plus acres of green space and over 200 miles of trails.  The plan also includes an assessment of the Department’s Urban Forestry Program and aligns with the SA Tomorrow long-range plan initiative.  Public input remains clear – thoughtful and deliberate planning and promotion of parks, recreation facilities and programs is needed to keep pace with the growth, changing demographics, aging infrastructure and social needs challenging San Antonio as our population grows.  Though the City of San Antonio will assume a leadership role in this effort, comprehensive planning can only be accomplished through close coordination with our residents as well as private companies, nonprofit organizations and other public agencies.  We look forward to working together with everyone in order to achieve the goals identified in the SA Parks System Plan over the next ten years and beyond to transform San Antonio parks into a Responsive, Restorative, Resilient, and Resourceful parks system.

SA Parks System Plan

Welcome!

Thank you for your feedback on the SA Parks System Plan, which was approved by the San Antonio City Council on April 11, 2019. The SA Parks System Plan will guide future planning decisions on the expansion, capital improvements and programming of the more than 250 City-owned parks and recreational facilities, 15,000 plus acres of green space, and over 181 miles of trails.

This System Plan is a reflection of the input received from city staff, stakeholders, user groups and, most importantly, the general public. From October 2017 through January 2018 the project team conducted seven community workshops designed to provide the public with an opportunity to communicate their priorities for the park system through a series park-related activities. To supplement this input, a bilingual on-line and paper survey was made available to the public. From October 2017 through April 2018 over 2,800 completed responses were received. Five free community events were held at various parks to promote the public workshops and offer the community an opportunity to complete the survey. Park staff attended various City-organized public events to promote the System Plan and solicit further survey participation.

After accumulating your input, four (4) primary goals to guide the parks system were identified: 

1. San Antonio has a RESPONSIVE park system; 
2. The Park System is RESTORATIVE to the community’s health; 
3. San Antonio is more RESILIENT because of parks and recreation; and 
4. The City is RESOURCEFUL in creating, maintaining and changing the parks and recreation system. 

Each goal is complemented by a series of objectives and recommended strategies.

Your ideas, insights and suggestions were essential to ensure that the SA Parks System Plan reflects the diverse needs of our community.