A 10-year plan for Forsyth County’s Parks and Recreation Department is now available online.

The plan was approved by county commissioners in early November and is a vision plan for the future of Forsyth County Parks through 2026.

“The update to the county’s Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan will guide staff and elected officials through decision making and actions — while balancing the opportunities and challenges of the county’s growth — over the next 10 years,” Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department Director Jim Pryor said in a news release.

The plan, which was done by consulting firm Benesch, includes an inventory of amenities, an action plan, recommendations for improvements and expansions and the current needs at parks.

Unsurprisingly, much of the plan deals with growth in the county, including a recommendation for the addition of four new “community” parks, with about 20 additional ballfields. The plan proposes “a standard of one field for every 4,000 people in the service population.”

Currently parks are categorized as active, those with ballfields and other amenities, or passive, those with walking trails and a more natural feel, parks.

The plan would divide the active parks into community parks and sports complexes — Bennett, Coal Mountain, Joint Venture, Midway, Sawnee Mountain parks and the South Forsyth Soccer Complex — and regional parks, which include Central, Fowler, Lanierland, Matt Community and Sharon Springs parks.

Other parks were categorizes as lake parks and water access, regional nature preserves and greenways.

Recommendations were also given to new indoor basketball areas, seven additional tennis courts and new biking and pedestrian trails.

A community survey was mailed at to 7,000 randomly selected households in the county, and stakeholders meetings, focus groups and public meetings were used to form the plan.

Per the release, the most popular outdoor amenities are walking and nature trails, Greenways and playgrounds, while the most popular indoor were walking tracks, recreation centers and nature and environmental education centers.

The community also said renovating older parks and trails, expanding the Big Creek Greenway and acquiring new land for passive facilities.

A digital copy of the plan can be found online at Forsythco.com/parks.