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Y Y 84 Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan CHAPTER 9- What Does It All Mean:Summary and Findings from Inventories, Research,and Input 9 D. Service Areas and Service Delivery Defining service areas for parks in a county system is In 1988, the Recreation and Parks Master Plan and a bit more-complicated than for urban municipali- subsequent reports examined to some degree trans- ties. With closely-packed neighborhoods and gener- portation patterns and networks in attempting to ally similar ranges of housing density, the use of define the four "districts" within which park needs driving time or distance as a service area definition were identified (see Map 9-1). However, as seen in is a valid determinant of what areas can reasonably Section 6 of that plan,the recommended location of be served. Many of these areas are walkable or have the four District Parks was based primarily on ex- access to a comprehensive public transportation. isting open space and water bodies, and opportuni- In Orange County's case, outside of the towns, pop- ties with public lands or other public or quasi-public ulation densities and the location of residential sub- open spaces. Of the four district park locations iden- divisions is considerably more sporadic and less- tified at that time,two were proposed to be located dense. Only limited public transportation along with new reservoirs, one near Duke Forest and the major roadways is in existence or planned for the County landfill in the Eubanks Road corridor, and next 10-15 years. The road network is arterial, with only one (northern Orange) in an area without side rural roads and private roads. In some parts of public open space or State parkland nearby. the county the road network is more developed and Therefore, it can be said that in the 1988 plan, features good connections in all directions. In other opportunity and existing areas, roadways are more dispersed and may only pp Y n public lands was the traverse certain directions, requiring trips tangential ultimate driving factor in the location of district parks, and not driving time and geographic or away from the ultimate destination before reach- distances. ing a main arterial roadway. These rural areas of the county continue to see moderate residential subdivi- For a point of reference, however, Map 9-2 shows sion growth, but the areas are projected to remain the location of the County's current parks and the rural for the plan period through 2030. proposed "service area" radius if this were to be the locational determinant. Map 9-3 shows these parks, As such, a 5-mile radius from a given park site in plus the service areas for planned new parks in the rural Orange County may be a five minute drive for someone along an arterial roadway, or a 15-minute County's Capital Investment Plan. As can be seen, drive for someone who lives down a long private there is substantial overlap using this definition, and lane in a more sparsely-populated area. Service almost all of the county is covered. Map 9-4 shows areas cannot easily be defined by distance, and trav- the regional park coverage, which is even more el time is highly variable. extensive. Another very different factor that should be taken into consideration in determining the location and service areas of future facilities is one that is not ► li,. `�— physical—the desires and needs of the communities within Orange County,the opportunities to enhance -- � 4 public health and economic development, and the T; social consideration of accessibility to low-income and at-risk households. These important considera- tions ma not easily be ma Y y peed, but they are im- portant to the recreational, natural resource, public health and social goals of the County. 9-8