Pa. mayors petition congressional delegation for $500 million investment in parks

More than a dozen Pennsylvania mayors, including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, this week petitioned Congress to invest $500 million in parks nationwide to address equity in urban communities.

The mayors joined the effort with The Trust for Public Land, which has been leading a coalition of over 300 nonprofits, community groups and companies pushing Congress to pass the Parks, Jobs and Equity Act within the American Jobs Plan. The groups seek the $500 million for parks as part of the infrastructure package.

In their June 28 letter to the congressional delegation of Pennsylvania, the mayors said that “the time to address the long-standing gaps in outdoor access and quality has come,” noting that the creation and upgrading of parks has environmental benefits in addition to community and economic ones.

Four other mayors from Western Pennsylvania signed the letter: Chris Frye of New Castle, Bill Gerke of Uniontown, Frank Janakovic of Johnstown and Nickole Nesby of Duquesne.

TPL says that the plan could fund over 1,000 new or redeveloped parks, in addition to creating an estimated 8,000 jobs. A nonprofit founded in 1972, TPL advocates for bringing “parks and nature to the places, people, and communities that need them most.”

Nesby commented on the inadequacies of the parks and recreational spaces in Duquesne.

“If we saw anything in the pandemic, it was the inadequacy for funding,” she said. “It’s needed in Pennsylvania. Every community should have access, for as many youths we have in our community, we don’t have adequate play spaces — we’ve had issues with flooding and there being stagnant water for weeks, it’s not safe for the children.”

Nesby also spoke about the mayors’ united front. “We [mayors] may have different communities, but our common issue is our next generation — we need to invest in our next generations,” she said.

The mayors’ letter argues that investing in green space helps mitigate climate change and the “urban heat island effect” that is said to disproportionately affect low-income communities. It cited TPL research showing that parks improve community health and climate resilience by reducing flooding, absorbing air pollution and filtering stormwater to keep rivers and lakes cleaner.

The call for the investment in local parks comes as a response to a dramatic increase in park use during the covid pandemic, which exposed park access inequities across the state.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which manages state parks and provides grants for expanding local recreation opportunities, has reported a 26 percent increase in park visitors year-over-year in 2020. Midway through 2021, park usage continues to show growth over 2020’s record numbers.

”We are pleased see to the increase in visitors at our parks and we recognize the need to expand access to parks in Pennsylvania cities where there are fewer recreation opportunities and green spaces,” said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “This proposal addresses our most pressing immediate needs and lays a foundation for continued growth, improving environmental conditions in urban areas, and helping promote positive physical and mental health.”

DCNR press secretary Wesley Robinson said that they have known about a lack of green spaces in smaller urban areas for a while, but since the pandemic, park access has become more vital.

“From January to May, we’ve seen a 4 percent increase over the already record-breaking past year and we expect that to continue, but urban areas like Altoona and Lancaster don’t have the same opportunities as, say, Philadelphia,” he said.

Robinson also explained the support for the push for funding.

“Although we [DCNR] are not asking for the money, we support the mayors and TPL — we want to expand the message because it’s a very important mission.”

In the past year, the mayors’ letter says, 9 in 10 state residents reported utilizing the outdoors for recreation, but almost half lack access to close-to-home outdoor recreational spaces (defined as within a 10-minute walk from their home).

“We’ve seen over the past year just how valuable parks and nature are to the mental and physical well-being of our residents and this legislation would fund new park projects to give more people access to these spaces,” said Owen Franklin, Pennsylvania state director for TPL. Creating safe and accessible outdoor spaces for all is not only the right thing to do, but it builds healthier and more climate-resilient communities.”