PLAY Roanoke wants public feedback on future projects

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Roanoke Parks and Recreation wants public feedback as it prepares to push forward with a series of capital improvement projects.

The department wants to upgrade seven recreation centers and the city’s two pools.

“It’s a very long time coming. I am cautiously optimistic,” Director Michael Clark said.

The future upgrades would make the facilities more inviting and functional for the community.

“They have accumulated a lot of deferred maintenance as well as some needed redevelopment to bring it in to the current century,” Clark said.

The public spaces are a top priority in the department’s 10-year-plan, but they need a blueprint before they can start reimagining the resources.

“That input from our citizens is very important in that process,” Clark said.

Thursday at 6 p.m. the department will host a virtual meeting to hear what neighbors think about the facilities and what they want to see change. It will be one of the first steps toward tackling these upgrades.

“We are hopeful that through this process that we can not only get some ideas as to what these rec centers should look like in the future but also generate some advocacy and publicity for these rec centers,” Clark said.

The department hopes to get $9 million for these capital improvements, but that money is still waiting on city council’s approval.

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