PRCR Master Plan
2024 PRCR Master Plan
September 2024 - The Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Cultural Resources Master Plan (PRCR Master Plan) is a visionary plan that is intended to guide the growth and operations of the Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department (PRCR Department) over the course of the next five years.
The development of a Parks and Recreation Cultural Resources Comprehensive Master Plan is an opportunity for the PRCR Department staff, the Board of Commissioners, and the public to work with a team of parks planning consultants to reflect on the state of the PRCR Department, changes that are happening in the Town, and future growth of the Town. This comprehensive engagement, combined with multiple analyses performed with the project team has resulted in a broad array of recommendations and action items for the Town to execute over
the upcoming five years. These recommendations and action items address what was found during both the engagement efforts and the analysis of the parks and recreation system.
2015 PRCR Master Plan
May 2015 - The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Master Plan is intended to help meet the needs of current and future residents by positioning Wake Forest to build on the community’s unique parks and recreation assets and identify new opportunities.
The citizen‐driven plan establishes a clear direction to guide Town staff, advisory boards, and elected officials in their efforts to enhance the community’s Parks and Recreation services and facilities.
2005 PRCR Master Plan
September 2005 - The Town of Wake Forest continues to undergo steady expansion in terms of both population and developed land within its jurisdiction. Through the early 1980's, Wake Forest managed to accommodate recreation needs for a relatively small, stable population through the core park lands long established in the heart of town. By the mid-1980's, however, the population growth and transformation of Wake County began to influence Wake Forest. It became evident that long-established parks could no longer adequately serve the anticipated population growth and that a broader geographic distribution of park lands would be needed to truly serve the expanding horizons of a growing community.
Today, some 20 years after the first pressures of growth and transformation became unavoidably evident, the Town of Wake Forest is a vibrant community within Wake County and, indeed, a nucleus to more rural and newly developing areas to the north and east beyond county boundaries. The desire to provide parks for residents to enjoy today while preserving park lands for future generations is not only alive and well, but gaining in momentum as new residents seek to enrich and enjoy their newfound community.
The purpose of the Parks & Recreation Master Plan Update is to review, refresh and expand the framework for town leaders and the Parks and Recreation staff to use as they chart the course for programming, maintenance and development of the park system over the next 10 years.
The planning effort is a deliberate means to step back in order to assess progress and determine needs. The planning effort is also a means to inject public input into the process of programming and developing a parks system so that the town leaders and staff stay attuned to specific interests and broader sentiments of the citizens they ultimately serve.
The plan itself serves as a foundation for budget projections and for grant applications. The town has been repeatedly successful in being awarded grants for recreational purposes. This success, in significant part, is founded upon the commitments expressed in previous master plan documents and the direct links between such commitments and actual accomplishments. This plan will build upon and reinforce such commitments.
The Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update will use a combination of national planning guidelines and community and staff input, along with the Recreation Participation and Preference Survey, to provide the Town of Wake Forest with the foundation to envision and sustain its park system over the next decade.