Parks In Trouble
Citizens’ Hearing on the State of Our Parks
May 30, 2007 PHILADELPHIA’S PARKS IN TROUBLE
Some people think that Philadelphia’s park system is just fine. But not the Philadelphia Parks Alliance (PPA). Nor do dozens of users who inspected the parks. In systematic inspections of a third of all the city’s separate parks, they recently found broken playground equipment, unusable restrooms, broken water fountains, dumping, litter and garbage, and insufficient maintenance. Above all, these inspections reveal that this park system with such enormous potential is in serious trouble. This citizens’ inspection was the first of its kind. It included 44 of 139 total parks throughout the city – a third of the parks managed by the Fairmount Park Commission and the Department of Recreation. It systematically used consistent criteria and its results provide an accurate overall picture of the state of Philadelphia’s parks. Citizens, who use and know their parks, including students from nearby public schools, conducted it. Every single park inspected with ball fields and basketball and tennis courts had problems. All parks reported neglected grounds, including broken glass and trash, graffiti and dangerous conditions. In 92 percent of the parks inspected, there was insufficient maintenance. Unusable picnic areas and benches were found in 88 percent of the parks inspected. Half of the inspected parks had severe problems with structures and historic buildings. This sad state of once great parks results not from a lack of dedicated staff or volunteers but from chronic neglect and under funding. City expenditures for the park system have stagnated for decades. Parks receive less than half of the operating funds the parks really need and virtually no capital improvements. Per capita investment in parks falls far below other comparable cities while park staff has plummeted for 35 years. This is why the Philadelphia Parks Alliance and a broad coalition of supporters are calling for ending this cycle of neglect for a renewing of parks by reforming their dysfunctional system of governance and expanding and diversifying their funding. An amendment to the City Charter to this effect is being prepared for November’s election. Successful parks make successful neighborhoods. Investing in our parks makes a better city. Research by the Trust for Public Land shows and common sense knows that good parks raise our quality of life by reducing crime, improving health, increasing property values, and reducing pollution. A higher quality of life attracts a qualified workforce, which in turn draws businesses and jobs to Philadelphia. PPA believes that only by understanding the problem, can it be truly fixed. Fairmount Park and all the neighborhood Recreation parks are too valuable to abandon. They can again shine light on the entire city and brighten the lives of Philadelphians and visitors, but not with its current governance and inadequate funding. Change these and we have a chance to make our parks great again.
Reprinted with minor revisions on pages 2931 2 Some People Think Philadelphia’s Parks Are Alright, But We Know They Are In Serious Trouble
3 Cobbs Creek Park 4 Wingohocking Park 5 6 Concourse Lake (West Fairmount Park) How Do We Know? Because for the FIRST time ever, our parks have been inspected BY CITIZENS, who know, use, and work in them
• In April 2007, the Philadelphia Parks Alliance launched the first ever citywide inspection of parks
• Park Users inspected 44 parks. That’s 1/3 of the 139 parks managed by the Fairmount Park Commission and Philadelphia Department of Recreation
7 Discovery Charter School Inspection
8 West Fairmount Park Grover Washington Middle School Inspection
9 Tacony Creek Park 44 Citywide Inspections
Inspections of PDR parks Inspections of FPC parks
10 Inspections In Every Councilmanic District Councilmanic Councilmanic Park District Park District Cianfrani Park 1 West Park 4 8th and Poplar 1 Wissahickon Park 4 & 8 Gold Star Park 1 Hunting Park 5 Jefferson Square 1 Reyburn Park 5 Kahn Park 1 Rittenhouse Square 5 Powers Park 1 Schuylkill River Park 5 Smith M. Playground 5 Penn Treaty Park 1 Fluehr Park 6 Bartram's Garden 2 Wissinoming Park 6 Chew Playground 2 Overington Park 7 Elmwood Park 2 Tacony Creek Park 7 & 9 Disilvestro Playground 2 Blue Bell Hill Park 8 Fitler Square 2 Clifford Park 8 Clark Park 3 Clivedon Park 8 Cobbs Creek Park 3 & 4 Cloverly Park 8 Fairview Park 4 Fernhill Park 8 Glendinning Rock Garden 4 Gilbert Stuart 8 Inn Yard Park 4 Ned Wolf Park 8 Morris Park 4 Vernon Park 8 Papa Playground 4 Shevchenko Park 9 Parkside Evans Playground 4 Fisher Park 9 Pretzel Park (Manayunk Park) 4 Poquessing Park 10 Saylors Grove 4 Pennypack Park 6,7 & 10 11 What We Found
• Thousands of Dedicated, Hardworking Volunteers – In 2006 volunteers worked 229,951 hours. At a rate of $18.77 per hour*, this constitutes sweat equity worth over $4.3 million
• Heroic Efforts by Park Staff
• A Desperate Need for More Resources and New Leadership
• Residents and Leaders Who Want to Improve Our Parks
*2007 per hour estimated value established by the nonprofit organization Independent Sector 12 But We Also Found Our Parks in Trouble
• Dumping and Trash
• Vandalism & Graffiti
• Dangerous Dilapidation & Disrepair
• Neglected Grounds – Erosion – Invasives – Dead trees
13 Overall Findings
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a
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e 30
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e 15
P 0 d d d d
n n s n e
n t Dangerous a d Dumping a a s
Vandalism
c o Neglected i n i u h t g n t e i m u l s o f n o a f r
i Dilapidas tion and i and Trash g o a r i
and Grt affiti r l a r e p
Grounde s o t r a i g a g r m N d G d n i Deterioration e u t n a p D e a a D l d V e d
Source: Philadelphia Parks Alliance Citizen Inspections, May 2007 14 The State of Philadelphia’s Parks
15 Restrooms
West River Drive Comfort Station and Picnic Area 16 Restrooms
• Most parks don’t even have restrooms, but of those who reported on them 86 % say
– They stink – They are dirty – They have graffiti
17 Closed or Nonexistent Restrooms
Pennypack Park 18 The Portapotty Solution
West Park by Mann Music Center 19 We Have Some Lovely Water Fountains
Fitler Square 20 But…
• Only 5 parks inspected reported having water fountains
• 3 of these 5 were broken
• Others wonder why they don’t have any
21 Water Fountains Out of Order or Nonexistent
Rittenhouse Square 22 We Have Some Beautiful Playgrounds
Smith Memorial Playground 23 However…
• Over 75 % of Inspections in Parks With Playgrounds Have Problems
– Dangerous conditions – Disrepair – Broken glass – Trash
24 Playgrounds with Rust and Peeling Paint
Rose Playground (W. Philadelphia) 25 And A Lack of Basic Maintenance
Kemble Park Parkside Evans Playground
26 Why Did This Happen?
– Chronic Underfunding – Neglect
27 Budget Neglect
4000 3500 3000 s n o i
l 2500 l Mi 2000 n I
s City Budget r 1500 a l
l Park Budget o 1000 D 500 0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Dollars in millions, not adjusted for inflation, rounded to nearest million Comparison for Fairmount Park Budget Only
Source: Philadelphia Department of Records 28 Staffing Trends
700
600
s 500 oyee l p
m 400 E of
300 r be
m 200 u N 100
0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Source: Fairmount Park Commission Numbers for Fairmount Park Only 29 Operating Budget $30 m 30
25
ns
o 20 i l l i M
n 15 I
s r a l l 10 o D 5
0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Need *
Source: Fairmount Park Commission * Reported by Park Reform Task Force, Fairmount Park Commission and Philadelphia Strategic Plan 30 Capital Budget
90 $85 m 80
70 s n
o 60 li l
Mi 50
n I
s 40 r la l 30 o D 20 10 $0 $0 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Need* No Capital Budget funds have been available to any City agency in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 due to a lack of City Council authorizing ballot questions for voter approval of spending.
Budget Numbers for Fairmount Park Only Source: Fairmount Park Commission * Reported by Park Reform Task Force, Fairmount Park Commission and Philadelphia Strategic Plan 31 Per Capita Park Investment: Major US Cities
300 250 200 s r a ll 150 o D 100 50 0 PDR C le r s d rk ia s tt ve ie n o h le D a n it la Y p e n e e C el g FPC to S D ve w d n g ig le e a A n C N il s i ll B h o sh P L a , a W vg A Source: Trust for Public Lands 32 Why Is This Important?
Why Invest In Parks?
33 Reduce Crime
34 Improve Health
Wissahickon Park 35 Improve Quality of Life
Gorgas Park 36 Increase Property Value
Fitler Square 37 Encourage Economic Development
Clark Park 38 Manage Storm Water Runoff
Retaining Basin at Saylors Grove 39 Reduce Pollution
Schuykill River Park 40 Citizen Inspectors Found More Trouble In Philadelphia’s Parks
41 Tennis Courts
Hunting Park 42 Ball Fields & Courts
100% of Inspections Report Disrepair
invasives & bare & brown weeds areas
flooding dangerous uneven pavement conditions & holes dumping broken glass and trash
Data based only on inspected parks that have ball fields or courts 43 Ball Fields and Courts
Papa Playground 44 Basketball Courts
Hunting Park 45 They Should Be Clean & Green
Mount Airy Playground 46 And More Trouble …
Cobbs Creek Park 47 Picnic Areas and Benches 88% of Inspections Report Deterioration
dumping bare & brown areas graffiti
dangerous broken & disrepair conditons needs painting broken glass and trash
Data based only on inspected parks that have picnic areas or benches 48 Picnic Areas and Benches
Clark Park 49 They Should All Look Like This
Pennypack on the Delaware 50 Even More Trouble …
West Parkside 51 Open Space and Grass 100% of Inspections Report Neglected Grounds
pruning / invasives/weeds dumping bare & brown areas Flooding / drainage deterioration & erosion dangerous conditions & holes Graffiti broken glass and trash
Data based only on inspected parks that have open space and grass 52 Open Space and Grass
Tacony Creek Park 53 Why Not An Oasis?
Penn Treaty Park 54 And Still More Trouble
Morris Park 55 Watershed: Rivers, Streams & Lakes 88% of Inspections Report Significant Problems
Flooding / drainage odor
dangerous conditions & holes deterioration & erosion
broken glass and trash
5 of Philadelphia’s parks are watersheds and are a source of drinking water for local neighborhoods
Data based only on inspected parks that have rivers, streams or lakes 56 Watershed: Rivers, Streams & Lakes
Flooding along the Schuylkill River 57 And Danger Too…
58 Retaining Walls
Tacony Creek Park 59 Infrastructure
• Retaining Walls: 70% of Inspections Report Deterioration
• Entrances, Stairs and Walks: 62% of Inspections Report Little or No Maintenance
• Trails: 92% of Inspections Report Insufficient Maintenance
• Structures: A Small Sample of Inspections Revealed Severe Problems – There are 469 buildings in Fairmount Park. Many require funds for deferred maintenance
Data based only on inspected parks that have retaining walls, stairs, walks, trails or structures 60 Entrances
Clifford Park 61 Stairs
Fernhill 62 Walks
Shevchenko Park 63 Erosion on Trails
Wissahickon Park 64 Structures
Thomas Mansion
Clifford Park 65 And of Major Concern…
66 Crime • Public Safety is a major concern – Drug dealing – Paraphernalia such as needles, baggies, beer cans and alcohol bottles – Public urination – Drinking and late night parties – Broken light fixtures
• Pedestrian safety
• Short Dumping
• Chronic Graffiti
67 We Need:
Charter Change on the November Ballot to Get New Leadership and More Diversified Funding For All Philadelphia Parks
68 So We Can End the Cycle of Neglect
69 And Get Our Parks Back
Frankford Archival Photograph: courtesy of Fairmount Park Commission 70 And Get Our Parks Back
Robin Hood Dell Archival Photograph: courtesy of Fairmount Park Commission 71 Great Parks = Great City
72 CONCLUSION
Philadelphia is blessed with a park system that few cities can aspire to much less match. Thanks to the tremendous work of thousands of volunteers and friends groups, visionary park and conservancy organizations, generous foundations, individuals and corporations and dedicated park staff many parks shine. But too much of our more than 9,200 acres of parkland has become a wasted asset left to decay and deteriorate by neglect and underfunding. This report of inspections by citizens like us documents this damage to our parks. It translates into lost potential to a city that desperately needs to reduce its crime, improve its quality of life, and employ its citizens. Fairmount Park and all the city’s parks can help Philadelphia accomplish this – but only if it changes the governance of Fairmount Park and increases funding for Fairmount and Department of Recreation parks. That’s why PPA and our partners are asking City Council to pass legislation to change the City Charter in November. The Philadelphia Parks Alliance is dedicated to working with citizens, park, advocacy and community organizations, elected officials, particularly the current and future Mayors and City Councils to make all our parks the treasure they truly are. As part of its Great Parks = Great City Campaign, the Philadelphia Parks Alliance organized and conducted the firstever citizens inspection of parks and prepared this report “Parks in Trouble” documenting the results of these inspections.
ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA PARKS ALLIANCE The mission of the Philadelphia Parks Alliance is to mobilize community support, build coalitions, educate the public and advocate for constructive changes that will bring about superior parks and open spaces throughout Philadelphia.
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