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32 | PARKS, RECREATION & COMMUNITY SERVICES NEEDS ASSESSMENT <br />NEEDS <br />Park Access <br />Over the past ten years, park and recreation planning <br />best practices have evolved to be more fl exible and <br />include community participation to ensure the metrics <br />or standards that are locally relevant in order to tailor <br />each community’s park and recreation system to its <br />own needs. While the 3 acres per 1,000 residents <br />standard is a valuable guide for calculating how much <br />acreage is needed, there are additional factors to <br />consider, such as the distribution of parkland. Many <br />agencies now measure parkland service by evaluating <br />how many of their residents live within a 10-minute <br />walk, or a half mile, of a park. There is a national <br />movement led by the National Recreation and Park <br />Association (NRPA), The Trust for Public Land (TPL), <br />and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to ensure there is a <br />great park within a 10-minute walk of every person in <br />the country. <br />This Needs Assessment evaluated the Redwood City <br />park system using a network analysis approach to <br />identify areas where residents live outside of a ½ <br />mile walk to a Redwood City park. A map displaying <br />the results of this analysis is available in Figure 13. <br />The network analysis did not include School District <br />land. The analysis included areas that permit all <br />types of residential development in the City’s 2010 <br />General Plan. The network approach determines <br />walkability based on the street network, accounting <br />for signifi cant barriers in walking routes. <br /> Park Service Gaps by Neighborhood <br />Six neighborhoods include signifi cant areas that are <br />underserved by City parks. These neighborhoods <br />include Friendly Acres, Redwood Oaks, Palm, <br />Woodside Plaza, Farmhill, and Eagle Hill. These <br />areas should be considered for future parkland <br />acquisition or partnership arrangements upon <br />further evaluation. Some of the underserved areas <br />near Dove Beeger and Linden Parks may actually <br />be within a 10-minute walk to the parks park but <br />the street network is fragmented. These areas <br />could potentially become better served with new <br />pathways or other access improvements. <br />The City should also consider neighborhood <br />demographics when prioritizing new park locations. <br />TPL’s approach to determining park need accounts <br />for three demographic variables in determining <br />park need, including population density, the density <br />of children in households, and the density of <br />households with median household incomes 75% <br />or less of the regional median household income. <br />This Assessment considers the average income <br />and average age of residents in underserved <br />neighborhoods, which are available in Figure 14. <br />Figure 14. Demographics of Neighborhoods with Underserved Areas <br />Redwood <br />City <br />Friendly <br />Acres <br />Redwood <br />Oaks <br />Palm Woodside <br />Plaza <br />Farmhill Eagle Hill <br />Average Per capita <br />income <br />$46,318 $21,028 $49,123 $29,664 $55,777 $72,794 $65,881 <br />Average Median Age 37 31 41 34 40 42.8 44.6 <br /> Source: American Community Survey 2016 5-year estimates <br />7.A. - Page 50 of 66 <br />162