Media Borough Open Space Plan

About the Planning Process

Media Borough is a thriving urban community with many positive attributes: it is a walkable town, it is ethnically and economically diverse, and it has strong neighborhoods. In the resident survey done for the Borough’s 2015 Comprehensive Plan, the need for open space and parks emerged as one of the most important issues affecting quality of life in the borough; a large percentage of respondents found the lack of such to be one of the biggest obstacles to the future growth of the borough. 

For this reason, Media Borough Council hired Toole Recreation Planning to develop an Open Space, Parks and Recreation Plan.  Toole Recreation Planning led us through an 18 month community engagement planning process, resulting in a document that includes: 

• An inventory and assessment of existing resources 
• Synthesis of information and issues facing the Borough 
• Options: a range of actions that meet present and future recreation and open space needs.
• A vision for open space, parks and recreation for the Borough. 
• Recommendations 
• A realistic, practical schedule for meeting the Plan’s recommendations through an orderly and coordinated process.

Crucial to the planning process is the project Advisory Committee led by Council members and borough staff and composed of representatives from borough community groups as well as Media resident volunteers.  The Advisory Committee met frequently throughout the planning process and assisted the project consultant to:

• Identify issues and opportunities
• Plan for the public meetings
• Provide timely review and feedback to plan documents
• Brief their home committees on progress