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Community Parks There are ten Community Parks in Cabarrus County. All of these parks are located in municipalities and are operated by local agencies. Community Parks are typically the responsibility of municipal agen- cies. While Cabarrus County was instrumental in development of several of the existing Community Parks, development and operation of Community Parks should not be a priority for the County. In the future, the municipal parks and recreation depart- ments should take the lead in Community Park development. Neighborhood & Mini Parks These parks are the smallest park types and are typi- cally developed and operated by municipal agencies. All three municipalities with parks and recreation departments (Concord, Kannapolis, and Harris- burg) have plans to build future Neighborhood and Mini Parks. The development of these smaller parks should not be the responsibility or priority for ALPD. Greenways The most popular outdoor recreational activity in the nation is walking. This popularity was reflected in the survey and in comments made at the public work- shops. One of the most popular recreational facilities to promote active lifestyles and help reduce obesity are Greenways. Greenways provide avenues for walk- ing, jogging and biking. They also connect people with points of interest (parks, schools, housing, etc.). Cabarrus County has been actively involved in the planning and implementation of the Carolina Thread Trail (CTT); the regional network of trails that will one day connect 15 counties. The County adopted a plan for the CTT in 2009. In the next ten years the County should work collaboratively with municipal agencies and the CTT organization in the develop- ment of this important resource. Recreational Facility Needs The Level of Service (LOS) for recreational facilities (i.e. ballfields, courts, picnic shelters, etc.) proposed for county residents were developed from a review of LOS used by other counties similar to Cabarrus County, and from input gathered during the EX -4 public input process. The LOS, identified in Table 3A- Facilities, and discussed in greater detail in Section Four: Proposals and Recommendations, are the minimum recreation facility LOS recommended for Cabarrus County. Based on these LOS, the number of public facilities needed in the park system through the planning period (2015 to 2025) are identified in Table 313- Facilities, "Recreation Facilities Needs Assessment" (page 3 -10), and summarized on the following chart. A more detailed discussion of each of the facility needs is provided in Section Four: Proposals & Recommendations. In the following table, the "Existing Facilities" col- umn indicates the number of existing recreation facilities currently available in the county. Existing facilities include facilities found in county parks, municipal parks and many school sites. The "Current Need" column identifies the total number of addi- tional facilities currently needed. The "2025 Need" reflects the total number of facilities that will be needed by 2025. As an example of how the needs assessment is pre- sented, consider playgrounds. Currently there are 39 existing public playgrounds throughout the county. Based on the Standards for Facility Development that have been recommended for the County (one play- ground for every 3,000 people in the service popula- tion), there is a current demand for 62 playgrounds (187,000 - 3,000 = 62). Since there are 39 play- grounds currently serving county residents, there is a current need to construct 23 additional playgrounds (demand of 62 - 39 existing playgrounds) to meet the demand. By 2025, with an increased population of 221,000, there will be a demand for 73 playgrounds (221,000 - 3,000 = 73); or a need for 34 additional playgrounds. F -1 Attachment number 2 \n Page 115