CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Cheyenne residents say the city is in need of more outdoor recreation opportunities, programs for teens and better connectivity to green spaces on the city’s south side. That’s according to takeaways from a recent report from a landscape architecture and urban design company.
On Friday, Cheyenne councilmembers held a workshop to receive an update on their Parks Master Plan, which is the city’s blueprint that guides decision-making on Cheyenne’s environmental spaces and outdoor recreational amenities. Cheyenne’s greenway and parks planner, Jeanie Anderson-Shrednik, has been coordinating with Colorado-based Design Workshop over the past year to collect data and draft recommendations for the City of Cheyenne on park system planning and design. The city has also been receiving input from recreation consulting firm Ballard King & Associates.
Design Workshop principal Anna Laybourn led a presentation Friday to discuss inequities in the Cheyenne’s green spaces and residents’ wants and needs. She also proposed steps city leaders should take in the decades to come to improve the city’s environmental offerings.
Design Workshop is currently in the process of synthesizing public input from Cheyenne residents into its final master plan document, which will be completed in the first quarter of 2025, Laybourn said during her presentation. A video of the full work session can be viewed below.
Outdoor spaces in Cheyenne
To learn about the city’s wants and needs, Laybourn and her team have conducted six focus groups, held an open house and hosted an online survey to gather input from Cheyenne residents on the city’s outdoor amenities. She also updated the city’s park inventory, which includes the number of parks the city houses, total acres of natural land and miles of trails.
Laybourn found in her analysis of Cheyenne green spaces that 83% of residents live within a 10-minute walking distance of a park. Generally, anything over 75% is good, and a 90% statistic is considered excellent, the design principal said.
Laybourn also analyzed Cheyenne demographic data to locate city areas possibly underserved or that contain subpar access to environmental amenities. Laybourn and her team found that south Cheyenne, neighborhoods near the airport and the downtown historic district are regions that require a higher set of environmental needs from city leaders.
“That’s one factor of prioritization, of where to focus your attentions — for recreation provision services and park provision, knowing that those are some different needs within your community,” she said.
Public input
The city and Design Workshop have held six focus groups, run an open house and conducted an online survey to glean insights on residents’ wants and needs regarding Cheyenne open spaces. Based on public input, Laybourn and her team collected the following takeaways:
- Residents are deterred from engaging in outdoor recreation due to adverse Western weather, especially high winds. In the online survey, 60% of residents said seasonal weather is a barrier.
- There is a high demand for sports courts and fields. About 73% of survey respondents said there is a need for more indoor recreation spaces.
- People want to see improvements to outdoor access in southern Cheyenne.
- Residents view the city’s greenway as an invaluable asset to outdoor connectivity and accessibility. Around 44% of respondents said time spent outdoors is very important.
- Employees should prioritize improving and maintaining existing infrastructure rather than building on more.
- Cheyenne needs more arts and culture programming. Respondents said Cheyenne can benefit from implementing placemaking and art attractions throughout the city that celebrate Western identity, history and community.
- The city has a need for additional maintenance and renovation funds. Currently, the county doesn’t provide funds for recreation.
- Groups of residents whose needs are not met include teens, people in low-income households and seniors. Data from public input indicate Cheyenne lacks family-based programs as well as opportunities geared toward youth.
Laybourn and city staff are using this data to guide the city’s path forward in both the short and long term.
Goals and actions
Design Workshop and Ballard King & Associates have identified five themes to help guide Cheyenne city leaders in the years to come.
Active year round
The city should foster spaces that promote healthy living and attract residents to use facilities. To do so, the city should consider avenues for broadening opportunities for indoor recreation and enhancing trails and the greenway.
Meet more needs
This theme prioritizes addressing the needs of underserved populations. Cheyenne leaders should increase services to underserved groups, promote youth retention and foster cultural enrichment and arts.
Celebrate community culture and place
Cheyenne’s Western identity and history have much to offer residents. To best share the city’s unique attributes, the city could invest in artful design, work more toward preserving its history and provide opportunities for environmental education.
Environmental stewardship
City employees already serve as stewards to promote healthy ecosystems and maintain high-quality parks. In keeping with the mission, staff should plan to mitigate environmental hazards, enhance natural resource management and promote outdoor recreation.
Align and expand funding
This theme revolves around the city’s management of facilities and communication regarding park and recreation policies. Cheyenne staff should focus on strengthening partnerships, reviewing price structures and exploring funding sources.
In addition to these goals, Laybourn said the city should identify regions that would be suitable for new trails or would improve outdoor connectivity for residents. City staff should also determine what properties aren’t meeting community needs and consider whether to discard or sell them off.
The city’s draft master plan will soon go toward a steering committee for input and revisions, Laybourn said. The public will also have a chance to provide input on the plan. Once all of that is complete, the Cheyenne City Council will take up the master plan at three meetings from October to December.
