Game Plan for a Healthy City

Game Plan for a Healthy City is a citywide and long-range parks and recreation plan to help the city respond to challenges including growth, limited water resources, and changes in our climate. The plan proclaims easy access to parks and open space as a basic right for all residents, and establishes our city's parks, facilities and recreational programs as essential for healthy environment, healthy residents, and a high quality of life for everyone.

The updated Game Plan says parks and public spaces are vital elements of urban infrastructure and recommends propogating them and their associated programming by:

Every Drop: Make the park system more resilient and environmentally sustainable
Every Person: Ensure equity in distribution of parks, resources and recreational programming so all residents have the opportunity to improve their personal health and well-being
Every Dollar: Manage resources to ensure long-term operational health of the park and recreation system
Uniquely Denver: Provide park spaces and recreational programming that reflect Denver's community and cultural identity

How did we get here?

The Game Plan: What it accomplished in 2003

The Game Plan’s previous emphasis on the vision of “a city in a park” and the core values of environment, engagement, equity and sound economics influenced how Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) invested in park and recreational amenities throughout the city. These core values will provide a foundation as we look to the community to update the Game Plan.

Below are some of the Game Plan goals that have been accomplished since it was adopted in 2003:

Increased parkland & recreation centers

More than 630 acres of parkland and parks have been added totaling nearly 6,000 acres.
One new state-of-the-art recreation center was completed in 2011, another will be complete in 2017, and four recreation centers were remodeled and expanded.

Increased Denver’s tree canopy

Tree canopy in residential areas increased from 18 percent in 2003 to 20 percent today.

Reduced water used in park irrigation

Today, DPR has more acres of park but uses 850 million gallons less water than in 2003. Over 75 parks now utilize centrally controlled irrigation systems providing automatic watering adjustments resulting in lower water use. Since 2003, DPR has converted more than 580 irrigated park acres from potable water to treated recycled water.

Improved pedestrian and bike connectivity

More than 30 miles of paved trails were added for a total of 85 miles of paved trails. DPR completed some “missing links” within the trail system including the Westerly Creek trail.

Responded to evolving recreational needs

In 2003, there were no disc golf courses nor dog parks. Today DPR has created three disc golf courses and nine dog parks. DPR is also building the Ruby Hill Bike Skills Course, the second bike skill area in the city.

Protected and Enhanced Natural Areas & Healthy Waterways

1,250 acres of prime natural resource areas have been protected and over 2.5 miles of gulch waterways have been restored throughout the city. The “River Vision” projects are transforming what were once dumping grounds into a series of vibrant parks along the South Platte River including improved water access and environmental education opportunities.

Revitalized and Protect Mountain Parks

Mountain park resources have been renovated and restored, including: trail improvements at Summit Lake and Red Rocks, renovations to Echo Lake Lodge, and new trails, a bison overlook, and road and parking improvements at Genesee Park.

Protected, preserved and rehabilitated historic parks, parkways and structures

Some of the city’s most historic parks received significant investment for rehabilitation including Civic Center’s Voorhies Memorial and Greek Theater, Cheesman Pavilion and theWashington Park Boat House. At City Park the bandstand was restored, Prismatic and Thatcher Fountains rehabilitated, and work on restoring Sullivan Gateway is beginning.
Civic Center and Red Rocks were designated National Historic Landmarks.

Read the Executive Summary (PDF)

Full Table of Contents (PDF)
Acknowledgements (PDF)

Chapters (PDFs):

Appendix (PDF)
Financials (PDF)

Task Force

Name	Organization/Affiliation
Florence Navarro, co-chair	Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
Darrell Watson, co-chair	Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Past President
Sharon Alton	Downtown Denver Partnership
Jay April	Denver Golf Advisory Board
Mark Bailey	The Park People
Erin Brown	Denver Office of Children’s Affairs
Rebecca Born	Northeast Neighborhood Area Resident (Park Hill)
Brad Cameron	INC (Parks and Recreation Committee)
Councilman Jolon Clark	Denver Council District 7
Fran Coleman	Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
Noel Copeland	Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
Tracy Davis	Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee
Chris Frampton	East West Partners
Julie George	Southeast Neighborhood Area Resident (Southmoor)
Anthony Graves	Mayor’s Office Director of Regional Affairs
Michael Guiietz	Northwest Neighborhood Area Resident (Jefferson Park)
Jennifer Hale	Southwest Neighborhood Area Resident (Harvey Park)
Karen Higel	Denver Public Schools Athletics
Fabby Hillyard	Mountain Parks Foundation
Mike Hughes	Central Neighborhood Area Resident (Hilltop)
Cindy Johnstone	INC (Parks and Recreation Committee)
Michael Leccese	Urban Land Institute
Sonrisa Lucero	Denver Office of Sustainability
Jeremy Matsen	Denver Department of Finance
Jackie Miller	Great Outdoors Colorado
Jennifer Moreland	Denver Public Health
John Noble	Far Northeast Neighborhood Area Resident (Montbello)
Councilwoman Deborah “Debbie” Ortega	Denver Council At-large
Erik Ortiz	Colorado Health Foundation
Jason Robinson	Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
Kendra Sandoval	Historic Denver
Catherine Dockery	Denver Commission on Aging
Ken Schroeppel	University of Colorado Denver
Rachel Steele	The Greenway Foundation
Regan Suhay	Boys & Girls Club Metro Denver
Myles Tangalin	Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee
Jamie Torres	West Central Neighborhood Area Resident (Villa Park)
Tim Wohlgenant	Trust for Public Lands

Project Timeline

Phase 1: Evaluate Existing Conditions

April 2017: Existing Conditions Report (PDF)
The existing conditions report culminates the first phase of the 2017 Game Plan update and documents the existing state of the entire parks and recreation system to uncover key issues that the Game Plan should address.

Phase 2: Public Outreach & Drafting of Goals/Objectives

Oct. 2017: Phase 2 Community Input Summary (PDF)
This update summarizes the feedback collected over the past six months through user surveys and listening sessions, including more than 20 presentations, public forums and workshops.
Oct. 2017: DRAFT Goals and Objectives (PDF)
The feedback provided has influenced revised goals and objectives to guide the plan forward.
Nov. 2017: A third series of public open houses were hosted to gather feedback on draft strategies. An online survey is available until March 30, 2018. [CLOSED]

Phase 3: Prioritize Draft Recommendations

May 2018: Phase 3 Survey Prioritizes Recommendations
During Phase 3, additional data and feedback was collected during public forums, task force meetings, staff workshops and an online survey. This input revealed community priorities and built on what was learned during Phase 1 & 2. This feedback will be used to further refine the draft strategies and influence the final report, focusing on the development of action steps and metrics to realize goals and strategies.
- View the feedback summary. (PDF)