Atlanta added nearly 270 acres of new parkland over the past year. An advocate for Atlanta’s parks says the city needs a solid budget to make sure this new land — and the more than 3,000 other acres of green space in Atlanta — lasts well into the future.
What’s happening: Budget season is underway at City Hall. And the nonprofit Park Pride is urging city officials and the public to be thinking “maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.”
Why it matters: No one holds a ribbon-cutting or press conference when a work crew trims tree branches or mows the lawn.
- But you do notice when it hasn’t been performed. Removing invasive plants isn’t sexy, but it’s vital.
State of play: Record visitor levels during the pandemic and labor shortages put an extra strain on stretched-thin maintenance crews.
- Additional funding could hire more crews to chip away at the backlog of deferred maintenance that Atlanta’s parks system needs.
By the numbers: Park Pride Executive Director Michael Halicki told Axios that 26% of the positions at the city’s parks and recreation department are unfilled. 60% of those positions are unfunded.
Details: The department needs $2 million to fund and fill the vacant positions, Halicki said.
- Doing so would bring the parks’ maintenance department back to its pre-pandemic levels — which are not reflective of the system’s present-day demands, notes Rachel Maher, the nonprofit’s communications and policy director.
In the weeds: Atlanta’s philanthropic community donates one out of every $5 spent on parks, Halicki said.
- But givers don’t expect to become a funding stream to pay for maintenance and expect the city will keep the parks in a state of good repair.
Zoom out: Big-name parks in affluent areas like Midtown and Chastain Park have conservancies raising cash for their upkeep. Greenspaces on Atlanta’s west side do not.
- Making sure parks receive the same level of care is the first step toward making sure Atlanta’s parks are more equitable. “The single thing that…
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