McKinley Park Neighborhood Plan

McKinley Park is home to many open space amenities; however, opportunities exist to increase community green spaces throughout the neighborhood. Community greening involves increasing the amount of green coverage, including recreational or passive park space, community gardens, landscaping, tree canopy, and green infrastructure. These efforts can achieve may benefits, including improved health and well-being of residents, and greater climate resilience. The following strategies focus on identifying areas to expand community green spaces and creating access points to existing amenities.

Identify priorities for increased community green space as part of future redevelopment projects

Future redevelopment and any potential eTOD projects can be leveraged to provide amenities like open space or community gathering spaces. MPDC should work with neighborhood stakeholders during the development process to identify opportunities for the creation of community green spaces and ensure that future development projects include these community amenities.

Capitalize on the presence of Western Boulevard and study off-street connections between educational and recreational facilities along the boulevard and other key destinations

Recommendation 7.2 outlines strategies for activating Western Boulevard, and creating better connections between the boulevard and other key destinations.

Other strategies

• Continue to activate vacant lots and open spaces throughout the community by transforming them into community gardens and parks to benefit underserved areas of the community
• Prioritize the conservation of open space along the river