Marshalltown's 2018-2028 Parks and Recreation Strategic Master Plan creates a vision to preserve, enhance, and grow the park and recreation opportunities within the city. The overarching goal for this plan is to serve as a comprehensive, usable document, to better cater to the community's growing and evolving recreational needs.

The community members had multiple opportunities to engage throughout the planning process. With open house events, comment boxes placed alongside parks and trails, an English and Spanish community survey, and a National Recreation and Park Association evaluation, residents of all ages and abilities had the opportunity to share their vision for the future of Marshalltown's parks, trails, and open spaces.

Community input ultimately shaped plan goals, identified underserved community groups, and determined future park improvement priorities. Through careful survey analysis, it was evident that teens, seniors, and those with special needs were underserved in terms of parks and recreation amenities. Along with making specific recommendations to better serve community needs, Bolton & Menk also established short-, mid-, and long-term improvement strategies for Marshalltown to improve their park and recreation offerings.