This planning effort examined existing recreation offerings and recommended additions and changes to improve recreation opportunities. We helped cast a vision for a recreation system consisting of open space, multi-use trails, shelters, a dog park, and a splash pad–all along an interconnected greenway network anchored by the developing Shelby Rail Trail.
Public Engagement
To reflect the desires of Shelby residents in the final plan, a multi-faceted engagement strategy was implemented to collect input. An informed steering committee, social media promotion, public outreach video, project website, digital survey, and interactive neighborhood workshops all contributed to making sure the public’s voice was heard.
Site-Specific Master Plan (Depot Park)
As part of the project, a master plan for Depot Park in uptown Shelby leverages a future rail trail corridor to provide a destination park in the core of the city.
Our engineering team now assists the City in developing and implementing Depot Park.
Destination by Design partnered with the City of Shelby to develop “Shelby on the Move,” a Parks & Recreation master plan examining the city’s existing recreation offerings and recommending improvements including open space, multi-use trails, shelters, a dog park, and a splash pad. The plan envisions these amenities connected along an interconnected greenway network anchored by the developing Shelby Rail Trail, with a site-specific master plan also created for Depot Park in uptown Shelby.
In North Carolina, recreation master planning and downtown revitalization work especially well together when a future rail trail corridor can double as a downtown destination. Shelby’s plan reflects that pairing, with the Depot Park master plan leveraging the future rail trail corridor to create a destination park right in the core of uptown, an effort DbD’s engineering team continues to support through development and implementation.
A citywide recreation plan works best when it’s shaped directly by the people who will use it. Shelby on the Move reflects that approach, using a steering committee, social media promotion, a public outreach video, a project website, digital surveys, and interactive neighborhood workshops to ensure the final plan’s recommendations, from splash pads to greenway connections, genuinely reflected what Shelby residents wanted.
Recreation master planning is the process of evaluating a community’s existing recreation assets and developing a strategic vision for new parks, trails, and amenities that meet resident needs. For Shelby, that meant park planning and design paired with an extensive public engagement strategy, resulting in both a citywide vision anchored by the Shelby Rail Trail and a focused, site-specific plan for Depot Park in the heart of uptown.
Shelby sits in Cleveland County in western North Carolina, with an uptown core that anchors much of the city’s civic and commercial life. Its developing rail trail corridor runs directly through that historic core, making Depot Park a natural anchor point for connecting citywide recreation improvements to the heart of downtown Shelby.
