Montgomery Parks to Present Draft Recommendations for the Wheaton Regional Park Master Plan Update to the Montgomery County Planning Board on May 5, 2022

The public may testify at the May 19^th Montgomery Planning Board public hearing on the plan.

Montgomery Parks will present draft recommendations for the Wheaton Regional Park Master Plan update to the Montgomery Planning Board on May 5, 2022. (The time of the presentation will be posted on the Planning Board agenda closer to the date of the meeting.) Wheaton Regional Park is 536 acres and is the largest park in the southern region of Montgomery County. The park’s initial master plan was created in 1987 and is now being updated to better reflect the current interests of adjacent communities and residents throughout the county.

“In the past 30 years, the county has grown and changed significantly. Wheaton Regional Park is one of the most popular parks in the county and our most urban regional park. It is time to update it so that it reflects the diverse values and interests of park users today,” said Mike Riley, director of Montgomery Parks.

Montgomery Parks staff conducted extensive engagement for the Wheaton Regional Park Master Plan update via surveys, focus groups, and community meetings. Over the course of two years, more than 2,000 comments and suggestions were submitted from the public for ways to improve the park. Key recommendations were then developed based on the findings from the public engagement and staff analysis.

Key Recommendations:

The following is a sampling of the recommendations. A complete list is available in the draft recommendations executive summary.

• Improve bicycling, walking, and transit access to the park
• Install a comprehensive wayfinding sign system for the park so that people can more easily access the different sections of the park by walking and biking using the park’s network of trails
• Add new amenities to address the needs of diverse audiences including older children, teens, young adults, and seniors. Examples of these amenities include:
  • soccer and basketball courts,
  • pickleball courts,
  • new soccer fields,
  • an adventure sports facility which may include a skate park, climbing walls, parkour/obstacle course, bicycle skills area, and more,
• Improve and expand trail access, including renovating natural surface trails, allowing for mountain biking on select natural surface trails, providing cross-park connectivity for bicycling and hiking, and maintaining select trails as hiking-only.

Public Hearing: May 19, 2022:

A public hearing before the Montgomery Planning Board on the Wheaton Regional Park Master Plan Update recommendations is scheduled for Thursday, May 19. The public will have an opportunity to provide testimony at this meeting, virtually, by phone, by email to [email protected] or by mail addressed to Casey Anderson, Chair, Montgomery County Planning Board, 2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, MD 20902. For more information on how to participate visit the Montgomery Planning Board website.

About Wheaton Regional Park:

Wheaton Regional Park currently features a variety of facilities and recreational opportunities, including:

• Brookside Gardens and Brookside Nature Center,
• Wheaton Ice Rink, Wheaton Sports Pavilion, F. Frank Rubini Athletic Complex, indoor and outdoor tennis courts,
• The Wheaton miniature train & historic carousel, Pine Lake, picnic shelters, a large adventure playground, an adult fitness area, a dog park, and over 10 miles of trails.