UPDATE: On December 15, 2014, the Lan-Oak Park District Board approved the Master Plan. Download the Park Master Plan. 

The Lan-Oak Park District is located in the Village of Lansing, a south suburb in Cook County that borders western Indiana.  With its 170 acres and 24 parks, the Park District serves Lansing's 28,000 residents. 

The Park District's existing parks plan was created in 1994 and over the past several years, the Park District has changed in ways inconsistent with the plan. CMAP's Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program and the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) helped the Lan-Oak Park District embark on an interactive, community-based process to create an updated park master plan.  This plan update provides the Park District with a roadmap for future development, as well as recommendations to improve overall community health.

The park master plan offers recommendations for all the Lan-Oak Park District parks, as well as downtown Lansing's Park Plaza.  CCDPH helped shape the park master plan by highlighting opportunities to better resident health through the use of the park system and its recreational activities. 

The planning process, developed in collaboration with the Lan-Oak Park District, involved four phases over 12 months. The first phase entailed data collection and involved surveying residents about their use of parks, enjoyable features about the parks, and desired improvements to the parks.  The second phase focused on assessing the existing conditions of the Lan-Oak Park District facilities.  The third phase involved the preparation of the park master plan and its presentation to the users and stakeholders of the Park District for feedback.  The fourth and final phase presented a final park master plan to the Lan-Oak Park District Board for adoption and implementation.

Lan-Oak Park District members and stakeholders had an opportunity to share how the park district could positively impact health at the "Creating a Healthier South Suburban Community Workshop," hosted by the Illinois Public Health Institute on November 13, 2013 at the Eisenhower Center. Between November 2013 and January 2014, CMAP and the Cook County Department of Public Health worked with the Lan-Oak Park District to administer a community survey about the park district. More than 70 individuals responded with general opinions about the park district, usage and quality of parks as well as facilities, future needs and improvements. The survey also included questions about the park district's programs and events. Focus groups were also conducted to capture additional input during the spring of 2014. The focus groups were with seniors, neighborhood residents and youth of the Lansing community. These various outreach activities helped shape the park district's master plan, which was showcased at an Open House on November 18, 2014. At this event, twenty individuals reviewed the plan and provided comments.  For more information about the outreach activities, see the appendix to the master plan.