City of Portsmouth Forms Project Team to Launch Recreational Needs Study

Late last year, the Portsmouth City Council and City Manager determined that conducting a Recreational Needs Study would inform the scope and location of any future sports/recreational facilities in the City.

Subsequently, the City of Portsmouth formed a Comprehensive Recreational Needs Study project team to update the Study last revised in 2016 and create a recreational facilities plan for the city. The project team includes the Recreation Director Todd Henley, DPW Director Peter Rice, Planner Peter Stith, Assistant Recreation Director Barry Foley and Portsmouth-based consultants Placework, along with Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

In December, the project team met to design a Recreational Needs Study Plan to evaluate existing facilities and to solicit public input on the scope of programs and facilities residents would like to see developed in the City. The project team seeks to understand how residents utilize the City’s recreational facilities and programs, assess whether existing recreational facilities and programs are meeting the current needs of the community and project trends in future recreational amenities, in order to define a plan for the future of recreation in Portsmouth.

The scope of the project includes:

• Data collection and analysis, including a review of the City’s inventory of existing recreational programs and facilities, demographics and national recreational trends, metrics for comparing facilities consistently, and evaluation of recreational facilities of regional significance and in two comparable towns to explore opportunities for regional collaboration and resource sharing;
• Public workshops (which will include a Visioning Session and a Master Planning Session) and online community surveys, including a city-wide survey of the general public and a survey of coaches and sports league administrators who use the City’s athletic facilities. These surveys are designed to determine how the community utilizes existing facilities, what improvements are needed and what is missing;
• Development of a needs assessment: updating the 2016 assessment to identify facilities needs and improve operational efficiencies; and
• Final report.

The City has created a project page on the City website to keep the public informed of the progress of the Recreational Needs Study. Relevant information and documents will be posted there as the Study progresses. Members of the public can also sign up on this page to receive updates on the project, learn about opportunities to participate in surveys and project workshops and find background information.

About Placework 
Placework is an architecture and planning practice located in Portsmouth, NH.  Placework designs to elevate the human experience by creating places that feel good and foster connection. The firm specializes in this intersection between traditional sensibilities and ever-evolving modern needs with broad view planning that understands local culture and informs place-inspired design. Placework acknowledges every act of building, no matter its scale, as having meaning in the long story of place.  Our team’s diverse interests, skills, and experiences give us unique vantage for realizing design possibilities grounded in environmental and social responsibility. As a signatory to the AIA 2030 Commitment, Placework believes that creating high performance, healthy environments is integral to the design process.

About Horsley Witten Group, Inc. 
Horsley Witten (HW) Group is a full service environmental and engineering consulting firm combining landscape architecture, preparedness and response, outreach and training, engineering, science, land use planning, and public policy services. HW clients include government agencies at the federal, state, regional and municipal levels, as well as private sector organizations, non-profits and individuals. Incorporated in Massachusetts in 1988, the firm consists of a professional staff of more than 60 engineers, landscape architects/designers, land use planners, hydrogeologists, hydrologists, wetlands scientists, marine scientists, geologists, computer modelers, environmental analysts, licensed site professionals, surveyors, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) and supporting personnel.