Imagine Your Parks: The Sequel – BREC launching new strategic plan and seeking input

Nine years after BREC’s first “Imagine Your Parks” strategic plan was set into motion, the parish parks system now boasts 12 new community parks, five dog parks, skateboarding amenities, a conservation area, the beginning stages of a parish-wide trails system and more.

Starting Thursday, BREC will begin to lay the groundwork for the next 10 years with “Imagine Your Parks 2: Better Parks—Better Living.” A public kickoff meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Independence Park Theatre. Through presentations, surveys and discussions with BREC representatives, BREC officials are hoping to initiate the conversation with residents about their vision for the future of the parks system.

More site-specific community input meetings will continue nearly every Tuesday and Thursday evening through March, with many happening simultaneously at locations throughout the parish. You’ll also be able to voice your opinions online—so you really won’t have an excuse for not sharing your input about what our parks system needs.

Cheryl Michelet, director of communication, says the first meeting this week will mark the launch of BREC’s MindMixer page. The service brings the idea of a town hall meeting online so people who can’t attend the meetings can still contribute via discussion boards, polls and interactions with BREC staff. The tool also links up with Facebook and other social media platforms so you can see alerts when someone has added to a discussion. The page will go live Thursday evening.

For more information, go to brec.org. Below is a list of upcoming community meetings, which will all be from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.:

Tuesday, Jan. 21: Flannery Recreation Center (All Teams First Meeting)
Tuesday, Jan. 28: Highland Road Community Park, Church Street Park and Hamilton Park
Thursday, Jan. 30: T.D. Bickham Jr. Park, Perkins Road Community Park and Sharp Road Park

Tuesday, Feb. 4: Independence Road Park, Antioch Boulevard Park and Pride Library
Thursday, Feb. 6: Anna T. Jordan Community Park, Plank Road Park and Gus Young Park
Tuesday, Feb. 11: City Park and Ben Burge Park
Thursday, Feb. 13: Jackson Park, Baker Recreation Center and McKinley Middle School
Tuesday, Feb. 18: Forest Community Park, Cadillac Street Park and Barringer Road Park
Thursday, Feb. 20: North Sherwood Forest Community Park, Louisiana School for the Deaf and the Visually Impaired and Flanacher Road Park
Tuesday, Feb. 25: Downtown Baton Rouge Library and Greenwood Community Park

Tuesday, March 11: Howell Community Park, Santa Maria Golf Course and Jefferson Methodist Church
Thursday, March 13: Bluebonnet Baton Rouge Library and Cedar Ridge Avenue Park
Tuesday, March 18: Monte Sano Park and Lovett Road Park