Strategy or Plan
Details
| Purpose | Assist with budgeting and work plans for recreation facilities, parks, trails, program delivery and how these services are delivered to the community. |
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| Keywords |
Engagement Upcoming!
There will be an open house in April 2026, and an online survey will also be available. Dates are to be determined. Please check back, or subscribe to Community Engagement Opportunities to be notified by email.
The Town of Midland is developing a Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan (PTR Plan). A Master Plan is a high-level strategic document to help guide decisions over a period of time. It provides a unified vision of what the needs, priorities and goals are for parks, trails, and recreation, and what steps need to be taken to achieve it.
The PTR Plan will maintain a long-term vision, but focuses on what actions need to be taken in the next 10 years (2026–2036). The plan will be a guiding document to assist with budgeting and work plans for recreation facilities, parks, trails, program delivery, and how these services are delivered to the community. The plan will:
- define community recreation needs and interests overall
- identify park, trail and facility needs (i.e. by type) based on anticipated population growth and use levels
- suggest optimal locations for parks, trail connections, and indoor and outdoor facilities
- determine when they will be needed
- provide guidance on how they will be delivered and funded
Town staff are working with a team made up of four consulting firms; thinc design, Mehak, Kelly & Associates, and TCI Management Consultants Inc. and Oraclepoll Research Ltd. These firms have collaborated on numerous parks and recreation master plans across Ontario, and combine expertise from landscape architecture, park and recreation planning, financial and organizational analysis, community consultation, and park design and implementation.
Determining Priorities & Recommendations
Priorities and recommendations to be included in the Plan are developed through assessing a broad set of data that include (but are not limited to):
- Council and staff feedback
- resident consultations (surveys, online engagement, open houses)
- facility user group/program provider consultation (surveys, interviews)
- shareholder/stakeholder consultations (focus groups)
- potential opportunities and constraints
- socio-demographic data (age, ethno-cultural make-up, population growth and locations of growth, etc.)
- facility use levels
- aging infrastructure
- budget and funding
- broader trends in recreation
- mapping and geographic distribution of parks and facilities
Project Timeline
Future dates are subject to change.
March–May 2026: Project Launch & Current Context
Consultant reviews of background documents and data; tours parks, trails, and recreation facilities; and confirms inventories.
March–May 2026: Community Consultation
Consultant conducts interviews with Council, staff and community stakeholders, an in-person open house, an online survey, a resident household survey, and a user group survey.
June 2026: Sharing What Was Heard
All findings will be summarized in a Consultation Summary Report and presented to Town Council.
May–October 2026: Draft Master Plan Development
The consultant will undertake needs assessments for each service area (programs and events, parks and trails, recreation facilities, and service delivery). A draft document will be shared with the Town Project Team, with rounds of revisions made before sharing and conducting consultations with the community.
November 2026–January 2027: Draft Master Plan Community Consultation
The Draft Parks, Trails, and Recreation Master Plan will be shared with the community at an open house and design charette, and also posted online. The consultant will also conduct consultations with key stakeholders to discuss the draft.
February 2027: Master Plan Finalization & Council Adoption
After making final revisions to the Master Plan, the consultant will develop a brief, graphic, digestible executive summary, and present the final Plan to Town Council.