Some of San Antonio's youngest citizens rolled into a bicycle rodeo on Saturday at O.P. Schnabel Park.
The event, for children aged 5 to 12, was part of a day-long celebration of the outdoors that included a guided hike on the Leon Creek Greenway trail.
And while the kids were focused on fun, many of the adults in the crowd had their eyes on the future, as the City of San Antonio is taking input for the Parks System Plan, a process that will guide growth for the next 10 years.
Landscape architect Larry Clark worked the crowd, urging everyone to fill out survey forms with opinions about green space, playgrounds, and more.
"Take the survey and tell us what you want to see in parks in the future," Clark told the crowd.
Whitney Atkins, with the Parks Department said
“Whether it's dog parks, whether it's more trails, more green space, whatever it is that the citizens of San Antonio might like to see for the next 10 years in their parks, this is what we're doing today,” said Whitney Atkins with the parks department.
Atkins noted that they have been gathering input since October, both in person and online, and there are many different ways people love the great outdoors here.
“Really and truly, what they're telling us is they enjoy the fact that they have various different options to go out and enjoy the outdoors, the green space, fitness classes, those types of things, just different opportunities for them to go out, recreate, enjoy family and friends, and be together and enjoy everything San Antonio Parks has to offer,” Atkins said.
The plan will guide future decisions on more than 240 city-owned parks and recreation facilities, more than 15,000 acres of green space, and over 180 miles of trails.
In addition to the online survey, there are two more workshops for anyone who wants to provide input in person.
Those events are January 10 at 6175 Old Pearsall Road and January 23 at the Toolyard at 10303 Tool Yard.