Roswell, GA

The Department of Recreation, Parks, Historic and Cultural Affairs (Department) desires to meet the recreation and park needs of the community. The Department will address these needs by conducting a Citywide Needs Assessment and creating a Park Master Plan, to be updated at five-year intervals. Utilizing the information collected in the Citywide Park Master Plan, individual Park Development Master Plans will be created to meet the specific recreation and park needs of the community. Goals outlined in the Citywide Park Master Plan process may include property acquisition and identification of specific facility/venue needs such as ball fields, trails, community centers, and/or aquatic centers (which are reflective of the needs and wants of the community).

Five-Year Strategic Plan (2017-2021)

This five-year strategic plan covers the years 2017-2021, and is an expression of the community's objectives, needs and priorities for leisure space, facilities, programs and service delivery.

It provides guidance for policy formulation and the decision-making process as it relates to the quality and location of recreational opportunities. The goal of the 2017 Plan is to accurately reflect community desires while presenting imaginative new recreational opportunities that are functional, realistic, cost-effective, and practical to implement.

Updates to this plan have been prepared at roughly five-year intervals since the original plan was drafted in 1969. Traditionally, the plans have focused on identifying land acquisition needs, improvements to existing parks and facilities, and advancing recommendations for new parks, trails and linkages. In addition, the 2017 Plan addressed cultural arts and historic resources, which are under the jurisdiction of the Roswell Recreation & Parks Department.

Previous Master/Strategic Plans

• Five-Year Strategic Plan (2012-2016)
• Comprehensive System-Wide Recreation Master Plan (2001-2010)

Waller Park/Grimes Bridge Park Master Plan

Waller Park, Waller Park Extension, and Grimes Bridge Park are very popular and important parts of the Roswell Recreation and Parks System. In a Mayor and Council Meeting on January 25, 2016, Mayor and City Council approved a master plan for the parks that presents guidelines to identify projects, develop budgets, and set priorities for the parks consistent with input from staff and the public.

• View the Waller Park/Grimes Bridge Park Master Plan

Roswell River Parks Master Plan

The Chattahoochee River is an important part of Roswell's history and future. The Mayor and City Council recently approved a Master Plan for all the Roswell River Parks. This document shall serve as an outline to identify projects, develop budgets, and set priorities for the River Parks consistent with input from staff and the public.

• View the Roswell River Parks Master Plan
• View the Roswell River Parks Master Plan: Ace Sand to Don White Park Rendering
• View the Roswell River Parks Master Plan: Economic Impact Analysis

The City of Roswell has announced plans to update the East Roswell Park Entrance off Fouts Road in order to provide a better experience for visitors, neighbors, and volunteers.

These renovations will include:

• Replacing the landmark sign and landscaping the front entrance, making it clearly visible and easily recognizable from the road.
• Increasing trail connectivity and minimizing vehicle and pedestrian crossings by completing the loop trail around the perimeter of the park.
• Creating an outdoor gathering area in front of the Art Center for classes, events, and activities.
• Creating ADA parking for The Art Center at East Roswell Park.

In order to complete these renovations, the city will be removing a number of trees to allow for an easily accessible, ADA-compliant parking lot at The Art Center at East Roswell Park. The majority of the trees will be replaced with a variety of hard wood, flowering, and evergreen species.

Phase one of this project, which includes tree removal and parking lot construction, will take place February through May 2019.

• View the Project Presentation
• View the Project Factsheet

Project Updates: January 2020

As a result of the public outreach process in February 2019, staff reviewed the landscape and trail alignment plan and made adjustments in the summer and fall of 2019 after the parking lot (phase 1) was completed. The trail was shifted in front of the building to keep as many of the existing healthy trees as possible in place and we amended the planting and grading plan to minimize the removal of trees where possible. In November of 2019, Mayor and Council authorized phase II of the improvement plan. Staff is implementing the revised improvement plans and we are only removing trees that are absolutely necessary for the site improvements. Staff focused our design to keep the healthy trees in place as much as feasibly possible.

• East Roswell Park/Arts Center East: Revised Landscape and Trail Alignment Plan (January 2020)