Middleton is known as “The Good Neighbor City,” a northwestern suburb of the capital city of Madison perched along the banks of Lake Mendota. Home to approximately 17,000 residents and witnessing tremendous, consistent growth, the City recognized the need to both fortify their existing park and recreational facilities as well as plan for the wise use of remaining acreage as the community continues to grow and parcels are absorbed by residential and retail development.

Middleton leaders chose to begin the process with the development of a Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP) and asked MSA to lead the study, public engagement and guide to implementation of the vision for the next five years and beyond.

One of the community’s main goals for the CORP is to address the rapid influx of urban infill development in the community. As Middleton grows and residential properties such as apartment and multi-unit buildings become more popular, so does the demand for convenient and accessible outdoor space. City officials are concerned about having enough park land to meet future demand, as well as enough funding to support park maintenance, staffing, potential new park development and associated programming.

MSA began phase one of the CORP by reaching out to local sports organizations to assess their needs and how such needs align with city planning, available space and use agreements. Once all the localized information is collected, phase two will contact surrounding communities to discuss potential partnership opportunities. The goal is to see where regional park and recreational needs align, and ultimately, to implement a variety of shared-use options including public sports fields, pools and trails to meet demand and balance investment between parties.

A robust public engagement component was also key to the development of the CORP. The City expressed interested in gathering input from citizens as early in the planning process as possible, but due to restrictions associated with COVID-19, did not want any meetings to be held in person. MSA planners shifted to conduct the public input meeting entirely online, including activities that residents could participate in after the meeting ended. The meeting was recorded and activities made available afterwards for those who were not able to attend at the scheduled time.

When complete, the City of Middleton will have a clearly defined set of needs, wants, opportunities and potential partnerships to guide it toward the implementation of a new and exciting recreation plan—one that will provide a variety of engaging and accessible places for residents to visit.