Staff received feedback at our public meeting, held August 23, that has prompted us to take some additional time on our planning for Weaver and Prairie Parks.
We have placed the survey on pause until we can gather more information and facilitate more discussion. Thanks for your interest in this important planning process - we are excited to listen and facilitate further.
**To be added to the notification list for updates and next steps, please provide your email**:
Notification List: Weaver and Prairie Parks Master Planning Survey (surveymonkey.com)
Visit here to learn more about our planning process and history.
The Urbana Park District has placed yard signs throughout Weaver and Prairie Parks to expand awareness of the planning process and we have also distributed flyers to the surrounding neighborhoods. Both the signs and flyers provide a link to the website where the community can learn more about the ongoing planning process and sign up for updates.
Additionally, staff attended a Country Squire Neighborhood event in early October to share information about the Weaver and Prairie Park planning process and provide updates on the construction of the new Health and Wellness Center at Prairie Park. The Country Squire neighborhood is located just south of Prairie Park.
To facilitate and help with our ongoing planning efforts, the Park District has assembled a stakeholder planning committee that includes representatives from a number of different interests and backgrounds including:
- Natural Resources (ornithology, wetlands, and restoration)
- Athletics (soccer, softball, and skateboarding)
- Trails (Friends of the Kickapoo Rail Trail and Champaign County Bikes)
- Urbana School District 116
- Weaver & Prairie Park Neighborhood
- Urbana Park District Advisory Committee (UPDAC)
- Urbana Park District Natural Areas Committee (NAC)
This stakeholder committee will help in guiding our planning efforts through a multi-month planning process. We anticipate this committee will assist by reviewing site history, assessing current site conditions/ecology, reviewing public input received to date, developing a plan for ongoing and future public input, supporting public engagement, and assisting with reviewing plan updates.
As the committee continues to meet, the park district will provide updates on our website and by sending emails updates to all that have signed up to receive ongoing information and notifications.
Stakeholder Meetings:
Initial Stakeholder Committee Meeting Minutes #1 here.
Natural Resources & Environment Subcommittee Minutes #1 here.
Athletics & Active Recreation Subcommittee Minutes #1 here.
Trails & Kickapoo Rail Trail Subcommittee Minutes #1 here.
Community Engagement Round 3:
More information coming soon!
To be added to the notification list for updates and next steps, please provide your email:
Notification List: Weaver and Prairie Parks Master Planning Survey (surveymonkey.com)
Virtual Community Meeting Slides: click here
Virtual Community Meeting Recording: click here
Draft Master Plan Option 1: click here
Draft Master Plan Option 2: click here
Background
The construction of the Urbana Park District Health & Wellness Center in Prairie Park began the Summer of 2023. Once completed, this facility will offer an array of recreational and wellness opportunities. This construction means removal of the two Prairie Park softball fields. The baseball field and soccer fields will remain.
The park district is taking this opportunity to look holistically at outdoor athletics and wellness opportunities district-wide to determine where resources should be used to build new fields/courts or invest into improving existing. It is also an opportunity to take a closer look at the combined Weaver and Prairie parks. The last Weaver Park Master Plan was created in 2005, a time of high athletics participation, and it planned for three ball diamonds and nine soccer fields in Weaver Park, along with natural areas. It is anticipated that this planning process will determine fewer fields are needed, and natural areas will be of greater emphasis. Prairie Park’s Master Plan is much newer, and was created in 2019 during planning for the Health & Wellness Center.
The park district is working with Farnsworth Group Inc., an architecture and engineering firm with experience working with park agencies on similar needs assessments and master planning. This planning process is expected to wrap up in the spring of 2024.
See below to view the existing park master plans. These will be reviewed and updated through a variety of input sessions with the community to determine what current needs are.
2005 Weaver Park Master Plan
2019 Prairie Park Master Plan
Planning with the Community
The first round of community input for this project included a survey and ran from November 23- December 13, 2022. It was distributed to the district’s program participants and contacts as well as through Urbana School District contacts. We had nearly 750 responses!
Click here to see a summary of the most frequently requested amenitities and the popularity of particular fields/courts.
Click here to see the full survey results (with names, emails, and other identifying information removed).
The second round of community engagement took a much more detailed look at what was heard in the survey. In February 2023, two focus groups were held at the Phillips Recreation Center. One focus group centered specifically on athletic fields (soccer, softball, etc.), the other more generally on recreation (pickleball, trails, skate parks, birding, natural areas, etc.). The district also consulted with its citizen advisory committee and natural areas committee to help establish priorities for the plan updates.
Click here to see a summary of what was discussed during the meetings. These first rounds of community engagement were used to create two draft master plans of the Prairie-Weaver park complex to bring back to the community. The draft master plans were first reviewed by the Urbana Park District Board of Commissioners and the Urbana Park District Advisory Committee in June 2023.
The third round of community engagement began with a virtual meeting to review the two draft concepts and a survey to gather thoughts. This meeting was advertised to the 315 people who signed up for the planning notification list from the first survey and focus groups as well as the park district’s program participants/contacts and the Urbana School District’s contacts. The virtual meeting was recorded, and then posted to the Urbana Park District website for review at any time.
The park district is now working with a stakeholder committee to review the planning process to date and prepare for additional input opportunities in the future, including additional surveys, and open-house style meetings.
Email Keenan Portis, Park Planner, at kjportis@urbanaparks.org with questions.
In the News
Tell the Park District your thoughts about the future of athletic courts, fields and amenities.