40-in-10 Bethlehem Parks & Recreation Master Plan

40 in 10: Every Park in Ten Years

The City of Bethlehem’s 2026 Parks & Recreation Master Plan, 40 in 10: Every Park in Ten Years, is an ambitious, community-driven blueprint for transforming all of the city’s 40+ municipal parks, 722 acres of parkland, and nearly 12 miles of trails and greenways over the next decade. The 40-in-10 Master Plan lays out a vision and a roadmap to improve Bethlehem’s 40+ parks over the next ten years. Developed through an intensive 18-month planning process, the plan establishes a clear vision for creating an equitable, connected, resilient, and accessible park system that serves every neighborhood and resident.

The plan responds to a pivotal moment for Bethlehem, with a never-before-seen investment in public space. Building upon prior planning efforts and recent investments, it provides a comprehensive framework for addressing aging infrastructure, inequitable access to recreation, climate resilience, programming needs, accessibility barriers, and long-term maintenance challenges. Rather than focusing on isolated projects, the plan reimagines the entire park system as four interconnected neighborhood park networks that collectively deliver nature-based experiences, play and exercise opportunities, sports and recreation, aquatic amenities, and community gathering spaces.

More than 4,400 residents, stakeholders, and community partners participated in the planning process through surveys, public meetings, focus groups, interviews, neighborhood pop-ups, online engagement, and multilingual outreach. Their voices shaped a plan that prioritizes equitable investment, environmental stewardship, universal accessibility, and implementation readiness.

The result is a visionary yet practical roadmap that commits Bethlehem to improving every park within ten years while creating measurable community benefits through recreation, public health, environmental resilience, neighborhood connectivity, and quality of life.