Signs marking the Robin Hood Trail in Ocean Pines.

Committee regularly scouts amenities to ensure safety and access for community

By Cindy Hoffman, Staff Writer

(Jan. 18, 2024) The Rec and Parks Advisory Committee’s monitoring and reporting on the conditions of the parks and other recreational amenities of Ocean Pines continues to lead to their improvement.

Thanks to their efforts in 2023, the Swim and Racquet Club Trail has been improved as well as the Robin Hood trails, with mulching and signs. They also revised the OPA Adopt-a-Park Program and provided guidelines that were posted on the OPA website.

Their efforts are not just focused on land. They also lobbied successfully for an accessible kayak launch in Pintail Park. That launch was installed in September, along with kayak racks.

Ocean Pines has many walking trails, parks and playgrounds for young and old. To ensure that they remain enjoyable, committee members take monthly walks to evaluate various trails and parks and develop reports regarding safety concerns and maintenance requirements. This also gives them an opportunity to clean the trails of litter and other issues that could affect walkers or bikers.

The committee made multiple recommendations to the board for this coming fiscal year, including the addition of outdoor fitness equipment, ADA compliant playground equipment, and refurbishing the gymnasium floor.

These priorities did not make it into the proposed budget this FY24-25, but that does not mean they are not important, Director Jeff Heavner, of the OPA board and liaison to the Rec and Parks Advisory Committee said. Just that other priorities, such as the golf course irrigation system took priority this year.

General Manager John Viola said that he wanted to look at more than just the gymnasium floor in the community center and would be creating a committee to look at the whole building and make recommendations for the next fiscal year budget.

The committee also recommended a safety and connectivity study for Ocean Pines.

This study would look at ways to connect Ocean Pines to the businesses on Route 589 and possibly Route 90 and make it safer to bike and walk between North and South gates and to area schools and parks, said committee member Patti Stevens, who is also a commissioner for the Maryland Commission on Transportation Revenue & Infrastructure Needs.

“This community should focus on providing safety for our walkers, bikers and runners,” Heavner said.

The committee is also considering ways to use the underutilized tennis courts at the Swim and Racquet Club.

The Ocean Pines Board of Directors receives annual reports from each of its advisory committees. The recommendations from those reports are taken into consideration as the budget is developed.

“We [the OPA board] value their input very much,” Heavner said.