We’ve given the village of Brookfield a little grief in the past about the way it has gone about — or not gone about, as the case may be — soliciting input about plans for its parks.
As the village began its open space planning process last month, we again added a bit of commentary along those lines.
Last week, the village of Brookfield took a very positive step in trying to engage residents and encouraging input about the future of Brookfield’s parks and other open space areas.
And it’s not just some static survey. The web portal at engage.brookfieldil.gov is an interactive site that allows residents not only to add their own suggestions, but to include photos, show their approval of other residents’ suggestions and generally engage village leaders.
People who visit the site can actually see what input is being generated, and those comments may be able to spark other ideas and further the discussion. The input gathered from the website, which will be up for about a month, will help the village’s planning consultant generate its open space report.
While we understand that not everyone has access to computers or the Internet at home, this is a solid way of trying to engage residents at their convenience. People without home access can certainly get that access at the Brookfield Public Library (or any other nearby public library for that matter).
Brookfield hasn’t engaged in comprehensive open space planning in more than a decade. If you have thoughts about how space in the parks ought to be used or have ideas on how to utilize Brookfield’s under-utilized open spaces (hello, South Kiwanis Park), this is an easy way to do it.
