Philadelphia placed at No. 32 in a new report ranking parks in the country’s largest 100 cities, writes Pat Loeb for KYW Newsradio.
Trust for Public Land’s annual ParkScore report found that Philadelphia does better than the national average on several measures, such as splash grounds and access, as about 95 percent of Philadelphians live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
The city, however, falls short on funding.
“One area where the city has really historically had a challenge is in the administration of maintenance costs and how well we’re investing in the maintenance of space that we build and that we use,” Owen Franklin, the organization’s Pennsylvania director, said.
Its roughly $86 per resident placed it at about two-thirds of the national average.
Franklin sees opportunity to improve.
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson noted that while she is pleased with Philly’s ranking, she doesn’t think the funding element is a good basis for comparison.
This is due to the volunteer work done by the city’s “Park Friends” network.
“They do a phenomenal job of picking up some of the weight in their neighborhoods,” Slawson said.
Philly’s No. 32 ranking placed it in a tie with Lincoln, Nebraska and San Jose, California.
Read more about how Philadelphia ranks among U.S. park cities in KYW Newsradio.
_____
