‘People and nature coexisting’: What’s ahead for Bethlehem’s 10-year parks plan

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Work behind the city’s decade-long parks master plan is progressing toward an initial project implementation outlook to come next year.

On a Wednesday Zoom call with more than 40 attendees, Omnes, an Easton-based planning firm and project consultant, said the community-driven 40-in-10: Every Park in 10 Years plan will see a final report submitted to the city of Bethlehem by the end of 2025.

And in February, the city plans to announce upcoming projects for 2026-27.

This comes after nearly a year of community feedback and more than 1,900 people sharing their thoughts in pop-up events, focus groups, surveys and input through the We Build Bethlehem website.

The project keys in on how to bolster park access and connectivity, ecology and conservation, infrastructure and facilities, and activation and programming.

“It’s not just capital improvements,” Omnes principal Laura Stedenfeld said, adding the broader work will “help infuse solutions into Bethlehem parks.”

“There’s a spectrum across the entire park system that requires care and attention,” she said.

'An intergenerational experience'

Here are some highlights from the data shared by Omnes:

• Bethlehem currently has 43 parks covering more than 722 acres, nearly 12 miles of trails and greenways, 42 sports fields, 24 playgrounds, five swimming pools, an ice rink, a 27-hole golf course and a disc-golf course.
• McNamara Park in South Bethlehem was highlighted for an opportunity to advance inclusive and connective spaces. “Just refreshing what’s already there,” Stedenfeld said, such as adding an ADA pathway at the bottom of the hill alongside ADA parking, and a refreshed basketball court and play area. The park also is pitched for new native plantings on the hillside, better gathering spaces, new cool zones with water refill stations and an upper pathway to connect to adjacent Fortuna Street.
• Clearview Park in West Bethlehem offers a chance to improve safe and accessible spaces for play, as it’s located near an elementary school and along a city gateway. Officials envision an interconnected network of ADA-accessible pathways and an outer loop centered around a multi-ages play zone. Adding gathering areas, sensory space and improved courts (tennis, pickleball and changing orientation of existing basketball courts).
• Bernie Fritz Park in North Bethlehem is eyed for increasing active recreation potential due to its lawn spaces. Beyond that, officials plan on creating shade and comfort and improving sports infrastructure, refreshing the bathrooms and adding water refill stations.
• The area of Monocacy Park and Illick’s Mill is eyed for an improved parking area complex and some opportunities for rewilding. Officials hope to clear a pathway to connect the upper Monocacy and Illick’s Mill and offer an extension of the current trail system. A restoration of the creek edge and the lawn area would help create a better stream buffer. “In the vision, through incremental improvement of the ecology and then capital improvements to these pathways, you can see these spaces for people and nature coexisting with one another,” Stedenfeld said. 
• Friendship Park, located around the city’s geographical center, is currently undergoing a major overhaul.
• More than 14% of the city population identifies as disabled. Bethlehem is addressing the full disability spectrum and how people can further engage in parks and nature (The Americans with Disabilities Act was not signed into law until 1990, so some equipment needs updating).
• Connecting South Bethlehem Greenway and Saucon Rail Trail; Broad Street seen as an east-west connection for bikes and pedestrians and other improvements.  
• Five city playgrounds currently have ADA swings, two have ramps to the play area and one has a sensory space designed for children with autism. The city wants to add new sidewalk and pathway networks to improve its 24 total playgrounds. “It’s about activating places for kids, for families, but we also want to make play an intergenerational experience — where you can go to any park and have a playful element about you, whether you’re a kid or not,” Stedenfeld said.
• Parkgoers requested nature-based experiences, fine arts and wellness programming for all age groups, such as guided walks and birding, nature education and trail use, chess and dominoes, magic shows, stargazing and walking story time. Tennis, pickleball and basketball are the most popular sports at city parks. Yoga in the Park has been a hit, officials said. 

Stedenfeld added that the city needs to further invest in its park maintenance staff, which include 17 full-time and five spring and summer employees.

“It’s not necessarily that parks are ill-maintained, but because some of the facilities are outdated, there can be a perception that parks are run down or not used enough,” she said.

“So through the 40-in-10 plan, the design helps solve some of that perception.”

Project officials are exploring financing options for the broad park improvements, including the city’s general tax fund or development fund, parks and recreation fees, donations, project-specific grants or even long-term park endowments.

You can share your thoughts on the future of Bethlehem's park network at webuild.bethlehem-pa.gov or call the 40-in-10 hotline at 484-293-1501. Project officials also can be reached at info@omnes.studio.