Archive for category: Parks & Recreation

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Category: Parks and Recreation

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Jessica Fox, Director

The Township’s Recreation Services Division provides numerous year-round special events and community services. With the changes to our programming initiatives in 2015, the Parks & Recreation Department has begun rebuilding many of our educational programs and creating new activities.  Due to the limited size our building, we have partnered with many local facilities to outsource some of our programs.  While many are free, all programs and special events require registration. Feel free to call the office at 215-443-5428 or use the online registration: www.warminstertownship.org/specialevents if you need more information.

The Department also oversees and maintains 420 acres of active and passive recreation areas in 13 parks. Warminster Community Park is the largest, 240 acres, with over 5 miles of trails. Many of our other parks are pocket parks located in neighborhoods. We encourage residents to take time to enjoy nature use this website to find local parks: https://goodforpa.com. Sport organizations such as soccer, football, basketball, swimming, wrestling, kickball, baseball, and softball are offered by various adult and youth sport organizations throughout the seasons.

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PARKS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE DURING THE PANDEMIC

Covid-19 continues to create challenges for everyone, but the one saving grace is that our municipal park system remains available to all area residents throughout the pandemic.  It has brought to light just how important recreation opportunities and the natural environment are to the health and wellbeing of all our park users.  We have observed a dramatic increase in the use of parks, trails and recreation facilities.  Parks have become places where people can enjoy the natural environment to reduce anxiety and stress and burn off excess energy if gyms are closed.  With more than 410 municipal acres, which includes neighborhood parks as well as regional destinations, residents have been able to social distance while enjoying nature and getting exercise.  “The National Recreation and Park Association surveyed Americans to see how essential they felt parks, trails and open spaces are during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey revealed that 83% of U.S. adults agreed that visiting their local parks, trails and open spaces is essential for their mental and physical well-being during the COVID-19 ordeal”.

As we move through the seasons with so many unknowns, we will continue to try to offer our most popular programs and events, but restrictions may cause some additional cancellations.  Some of our events have gone virtual and others have moved outside.  To stay up to date and explore more options, we recommend that you subscribe to the township email.  Also, check out the websites for Warminster Free Library, Doylestown Health and the PSU Extension Service (https://extension.psu.edu) as they provide many virtual educational and free webinar programs.  Please be assured that we will continue to keep the members of the community active, happy and healthy. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, and for the protection of yourself, your family and others, please wear a mask while using the park, stay home if you feel ill, wash hands and continue to social distance while visiting township offices and parks and take care to properly dispose of trash.  We greatly appreciate the continued support of area residents during these challenging times.

 

WARMINSTER GRANT IMPROVEMENTS NEAR COMPLETION

After several years of planning and a year of work, Warminster Township is happy to announce that the construction work at Warminster Community Park is nearly complete. WCP is now home to a championship soccer field, two youth baseball/softball fields; a new pavilion with rest rooms; new play apparatus; new basketball courts, including a Bankshot basketball system, which allows all abilities to participate; expanded parking; new and expanded trails and new fencing along Bristol and Newtown Roads. Construction brought both expected obstacles (snow and weather delays) and unexpected ones (covid and delivery delays), but the new facilities and amenities were worth the wait. Most of the new facilities will be ready for use this spring, but the driveway at Hatboro/Bristol Roads is not open to the public unless there is a special event. Additional traffic controls are needed at that end of the park to keep all park users safe. The driveway extension from the Veterans Way entrance is open to the new parking lots, but the driveway dead ends, and vehicles will not be able to enter from either end and drive through the entire park.

With assistance from local legislators, developers, sport & civic organizations and individuals, the Township was able to acquire over $3M in grant funds and donations to bring this project to fruition. We would like to thank all that made this project possible and the Warminster community for your patience throughout the construction process. We hope that everyone enjoys the improvements that have been completed.

 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
For our events to be successful, we are seeking volunteers who wish to assist. No worries about the time commitment – it can be as little as a half hour to multiple hours and on a flexible schedule. Let us know if you are interested by contacting the Parks & Rec office at 215-443-5428. Please be aware that background checks may be required when working with children.

SAFETY TOWN OPEN FOR BUSINESS:
There are still a few facades available in Warminster Parks & Recreation’s Safety Town at Warminster Community Park for a 5-year lease period. Business sponsorship is also being sought for recyclable benches, a shed for big-wheel/trike storage and a sunshade. If interested, contact the Parks & Recreation Department for more information.

Dog License and Bark Park Paw Passes
Annual Dog Licenses and Bark Park Paw Passes are available for purchase in the Parks & Recreation office, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM-4:00 PM. Bark Park classes are now forming for new members and are available online until we can meet again in person. Check on line for more information: www.warminstertownship.org/barkpark.

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Weather Cancellations
For weather closings and program cancellations at the WREC, listen to KYW News Radio, 1060 AM, Fox 29 News or check Channels 22 or 45, or the Township website at www.warminstertownship.org. Just listen or watch for our name and message! We are unable to give refunds or credit for emergency or weather-related cancellations, or other circumstances beyond our control. However, we will make every possible attempt to reschedule the event.

Accessibility
Warminster Parks & Recreation recognizes the importance of recreation for everyone. Many of our facilities are barrier free. We will, to the best of our ability, adapt our parks, trips, and special events to make them accessible to persons with special needs. We invite physically challenged persons to let us know what kinds of adaptations we can make so that as many people as possible can enjoy quality leisure services.

• TDD for the Hearing & Speech Impaired: We can be reached by contacting the Pennsylvania telephone relay service at (800) 654-5984.
• Sports for Individuals with Disabilities – Information on organizations serving physically challenged athletes is available at these websites: www.dsusa.org: www.disabled-world.com/sports; www.dasasports.org; www.mageerehab.org: www.wheelchairnet.org: or search: Disabled Sports.
• Outdoor Safety and Health: www.safehome.org