City of Independence

Parks and Recreation Master Plan

PROS Consulting developed a five-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan to provide the City of Independence with a practical, fiscally responsible roadmap for revitalizing its parks, recreation facilities, programs, and operations. The planning process responded to aging infrastructure, deferred investment, service gaps, and limited organizational capacity while recognizing the park system’s essential role in community identity, neighborhood quality, and economic vitality. Recommendations were organized around five strategic pillars:

• Asset Revitalization and Stewardship: Prioritize lifecycle-based reinvestment, modernization, and proactive maintenance of existing parks and facilities.
• Responsive Programs and Services: Strengthen inclusive, high-quality programming for youth, seniors, families, young adults, and underserved populations.
• Connectivity, Access, and Safe Public Spaces: Improve geographic equity, neighborhood connections, safety, visibility, comfort, and universal accessibility.
• Organizational Capacity and Operational Excellence: Modernize staffing, policies, internal systems, performance measures, and accountability practices.
• Economic Vitality and Financial Sustainability: Diversify funding, strengthen partnerships and sponsorships, improve financial performance, and align park investments with broader redevelopment and economic development initiatives.

PROS translated these priorities into a phased implementation framework identifying short-, mid-, and long-term actions, funding considerations, responsible parties, and measurable outcomes. The resulting plan equips City leadership with a disciplined decision-making framework to protect public assets, strengthen neighborhoods, increase organizational capacity, and build a more accessible, sustainable, and high-performing parks and recreation system.

See the Full Master Plan