Here’s how you can help Independence plan the future of its parks and rec spaces
The City of Independence is reimagining the future of its playgrounds and parks — and residents are invited to weigh in.
The city is launching a five-year Parks & Recreation master plan, which will see facility upgrades in some city parks, playgrounds, trails and historic sites, with the potential for new indoor recreation sites to be built from scratch.
The city began working on the plan, titled “Ready To Play,” in January. An online survey went live last week, asking residents to indicate which city parks they use the most and which sort of amenities they would like to see added. Some households have also received a survey by mail.
The survey includes a detailed series of questions about how residents use city parks and what programming or facility upgrades they would be most interested in seeing from the city. A child-friendly version for users aged 10-17 is also available, focused on the activities and classes that kids and teens might want to attend if they were offered around the city.
Parks & Recreation officials are hoping that children and teenagers will have a direct role in shaping the plan, since they are some of the primary users of outdoor spaces and playgrounds.
A city-wide brainstorm
Future amenities installed in parks under the plan could include basketball courts, splash pads, and pickleball and tennis courts, as well as additional bathrooms and shade-providing pavilions.
The survey also gauges interest for an indoor recreation center, which could include gym and pool facilities, as well as multipurpose rooms that groups could rent out.
The city created an interactive map for residents to directly provide feedback on the greenspaces and historic sites they visit the most often, including Vaile Mansion and the Truman Memorial Building.
However, not all of the improvements chosen by the city will take a physical form.
So far, brainstorms submitted by residents have referenced better-lit trails, more detailed websites and a more “energetic and robust” slate of youth programming.
Residents have also given feedback on behalf of their pets, noting which parks need more ground-level water fountains and which fields their dogs prefer to sniff around in.
According to the 2025-2026 proposed city budget, the city did complete several maintenance projects this past year, including resurfacing of the Rock Creek Trail and replacement of the bridge at Sycamore Hills Park.
Finding funding
The project’s public launch comes several months after the failure of a general obligation bond question which would have allocated $12 million to update the Independence Athletic Complex and three major historic sites. It also follows the closure of Adventure Oasis, a city water park that shut its doors in March citing financial issues.
It’s not yet clear how Independence plans to pay for the proposed parks revamp, and the plan comes at a time when several funding sources for recreation and public buildings have been canceled or reduced. The city’s proposed 2025-2026 budget includes a $14,651 reduction in parks facility maintenance funding and notes that additional revenue streams will be needed for the master plan to launch beyond the ideas stage.
Existing parks and recreation funding sources in the city include a quarter-cent sales tax for park improvements and a Health & Recreation Levy collected on real estate, as well as a tourism tax applied to hotel and campground stays and short-term rental rates within city limits.
The survey’s initial findings will be presented at a Sept. 8 city council meeting. A final draft of the city’s new Parks and Recreation plan is expected to be available between January and February 2026.
Residents can fill out the Ready to Play survey here and the youth survey here.
