Parks Stewardship Initiative

Seattleites love their parks, trails and green spaces. But our parks lack a consistent, sustainable source of funds to pay for operations, maintenance, rehabilitation, and repair, and the Parks budget is one of the first to be cut when funds are limited. Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation now faces a $20 million shortfall in the annual cost of operating and maintaining the existing parks system. In addition, there is a backlog of major maintenance projects - such as roof replacements, seismic upgrades and forest restoration - already exceeding $270 million.

The impacts are seen and felt by all of us today: recreational programs have been eliminated, community center hours reduced, trash cans are overflowing, and urban forests and planting beds are being choked out by invasive weeds.  And because of underlying structural problems with the city budget, the problem will only worsen over time if left unaddressed.

The Seattle Parks Foundation and our partners realize the vital importance of coming together to solve this problem. The report Sustaining Seattle’s Parks: A Study of Alternative Strategies to Support Operations and Maintenance of a Great Urban Parks System, prepared for Seattle Parks Foundation and seven nonprofit partners, identifies the problems facing Seattle’s park system, analyzes the reasons for the chronic shortfall, explores potential strategies that are being tested in other urban settings, and identifies those solutions that make the most sense for Seattle. 

Please join us in educating ourselves about this problem, and advocating with elected officials for the recommended solutions outlined in the report. Finding the right mix of solutions for our parks relies on broad community participation.

Download the Full Report (1.2MB) >
Download the Executive Summary >
See the Survey Results >

 

Many Thanks to our Partners:

 

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