SOUTH CAROLINA
FALL 2016
RECREATION & PARKS ASSOCIATION
Playgrounds for All
Turning
Challenges Into Opportunities Pokémon Go Outside and Play
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SOUTH CAROLINA
TABLE OF CONTENTS Association Report........................................................................................... 5 Pokémon GO Outside and Play!..................................................................... 6 Challenges Equal Growth in Fort Mill......................................................... 8-9 Beyond BASIC: Opportunities for Charleston.............................................10
RECREATION & PARKS ASSOCIATION
Re-Imagining Undeveloped Property...........................................................11 SK8 Charleston............................................................................................12-13 Mount Pleasant Scores Big with British Soccer Camp...........................14-15
2016 Board of Directors
Revenue from the Unexpected.................................................................16-17 Playgrounds for All..................................................................................... 18-19
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
ADVERTISER INDEX
President Eric Stewart
Central VP John Alexander
President Elect Lawanda Curry
Eastern VP David Williams
Vice President T. J. Rostin
Southern VP Doyle Best
Churchich Recreation & Design...................................................................... 5
Secretary Amy Evans
Western VP Ray Dunham
John Deere........................................................................................................ 7
Barrs Recreation...............................................................................Back Cover Carolina Parks & Play.......................................................................................17 Carolina Recreation & Design........................................................................15 Cunningham Recreation.................................................................................. 4 Most Dependable Fountains, Inc..................................... Inside Front Cover The Parking Place............................................................................................. 3
Treasurer Randy Gibson
Wood + Partners............................................................................................... 4
Past President Jeff Metz
Thank you to our advertisers for your help in supporting SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks magazine. We kindly ask members to please support our advertisers. Interested in advertising? Contact Todd Pernsteiner at 952-841-1111 or info@pernsteiner.com.
BRANCHES CBM Branch Scott Wilhide
SCAP Branch Shannon Loper
ELM Branch Mark Sexton
Student Branch Leslie Ballard
PRM Branch Josh Sullivan
SC PRT Representative Matt Elswick
ON THE COVER: Comporium Amphitheater, Anne Springs Close Greenway, Fort Mill, SC
RAP Branch David Caldwell
SCRPA EXECUTIVE STAFF Executive Director: James E. Headley jim@scrpa.org
Membership Services Coordinator: Melissa Williams melissa@scrpa.org
SCRPA MAGAZINE/MARKETING COMMITTEE Laurie Helms City of Rock Hill Chris Pounder Charleston County PRC
Kathy Kackley City of North Charleston Sarah Reynolds Charleston County PRC
P.O. Box 1046 • Lexington, SC 29071-1046 (p) 803-808-7753 (f) 803-808-7754
Dena Long Irmo Chapin Joshua Singleton City of Loris
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FALL 2016 • SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks 3
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SOUTH
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RECREATION & PARKS ASSOCIATION
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by Eric Stewart and Jim Headley
THE ASSOCIATION REPORT I hope this latest issue of your Association’s magazine finds everyone well. As we head into the fall, summer’s scorching temperatures are replaced by some of my favorite things – changing seasons, football, and, of course, seeing friends and colleagues at conference. For those of you who made the trip to Greenville, I want to thank you for your commitment to the Association and I hope you discovered some takeaways that will prove beneficial. For those first-timers, young professionals, or those new to the profession, I hope this was an opportunity to discover everything SCRPA has to offer. Our Association is only successful because of the effort put in by its members (along with our great staff Jim and Melissa!) and I would encourage anyone who is interested in serving the Association in any capacity to get involved; I can speak from experience that it is a very rewarding experience. The end of summer also signifies changes in our professional responsibilities; pools and waterparks are ending their summer fun, summer camps conclude as the kids go back to school, leagues and athletics are changing to new seasons. If you fit into this group where summer indicates an end, I hope you can take a moment to look back at all the good you did for your community this summer. For others, the end of summer means the beginning of something new – the kids are back in school, leagues are starting, and as it gets colder people migrate back indoors. If you fit into this group, I encourage you to look at all the potential that is in front of you, and all the good you are going to create for the people around you – and to be excited about it! However, I would bet that the majority of us fit into both these categories - the end of one thing means the beginning of the next, and before we know it we will be transitioning again. If that in fact is you, then you must remember how important it is to celebrate your successes and how dedicated you must remain to ensure a positive impact in the future. Our theme for the magazine this time around is Turning Challenges into Opportunities and I think we picked some great examples to highlight that concept. When I first heard the theme it reminded me of a show I caught this past spring, “10 Parks that Changed America” (PBS). It highlighted parks around the country
with an emphasis on landscape architecture but there was a common element among most: a challenge that was turned into an opportunity. While these are very high profile examples (the High Line in New York City and Gas Works Park in Seattle being my favorites), any of us have the opportunity to think in this manner, no matter how big or how small, and have a great impact on others’ quality of life. Please take a few minutes to read through these wonderful examples from around our state. I hope everyone has a great fall. Thank you for all you do!
Eric & Jim
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FALL 2016 • SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks 5
Pokémon GO Outside and Play! By Brian Sanders, Assistant County Administrator, Aiken County During my career, recreation professionals have had the unique challenge of encouraging people to get active and stay fit, while advances in personal technology seem to be pulling in the other direction. While there is no dispute that electronics have made daily life easier in many ways, they have also affected the way that youth spend leisure time and interact. As an organizer and participant of many recreation conference sessions and workshops, often the subject comes up: How do we, as recreation professionals, combat the couch potato draw of the X-Box, Playstation, and now the mobile phone? It seemed that many of the new, nontraditional activities that we tried were met with middling success, at best. In our battle against virtual entertainment, we were barely holding off the electronic forces of evil in our quest to get people outside and active. Then in a stroke of genius, developers at Nintendo, The Pokémon Company and Google collaborated to create a game that would transform electronic gaming from a personal experience in front of a screen to an outdoor experience that encourages social interaction (a sore point among recreation professionals regarding electronics), cooperation, team building and exercise. All good things, right?
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Pokémon Go is based on the popular Pokémon Empire that has a nostalgic draw for millennials, but the game is wildly popular with all age groups, from elementary school to college students. This new version of the game actually encourages physical activity (long the number one goal of recreation) in order for players to progress. I was introduced to this new phenomenon by my teenaged children on our recent annual vacation with friends. Over the years, we enjoyed activities like volleyball, ping pong, kayaking and swimming, but with the introduction of mobile phones, the kids were spending more and more time in their own personal virtual worlds. Last year, the kids in our group would take part in half-hearted activities after nagging from the parents, then quickly return to their devices and their invisible bubbles. This year, however, the kids were rarely indoors. They repeatedly asked for permission to go to various locations as a group, meeting other players and working together as a team. The point of this piece is that we as a profession should operate under the philosophy of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” We should encourage app makers to create more opportunities for electronics and exercise. Sweat and technology CAN go together! Pokémon Go popularity may fade but my hope is that this literal game changer is the beginning of a new trend.
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Turning
Challenges Into Opportunities
Marion Walsh Outdoor Classroom 8 SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks • www.scrpa.org
New Timberline Trail Re-Route
Challenges Equal Growth and Opportunity in Fort Mill By Denise Cubbedge and Buddy Faile, Anne Springs Close Greenway The northern area of York County around the town of Fort Mill is one of the most rapidly growing parts of South Carolina in terms of population, housing and job creation. Its close proximity to Charlotte and Rock Hill, a highly rated local school system, and access to public recreation explain much of the attraction. Nestled in the heart of Fort Mill and spanning 2,100 acres of protected greenspace, the Anne Springs Close Greenway has become a favorite regional destination for this growing population and has, too, experienced recent exponential growth. This “nature park” includes 40 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding, and relies on memberships, program and use fees, special events, corporate sponsorships and private donations for operating capital. From 2012-2016, annual visitors increased from just over 90,000 to more than 231,000, and as a result, higher trail use exposed weaknesses in some of the original trail designs. It was clear more convenient facilities and an increase in programmed activities were needed to
better serve Greenway members and users. While most parks and recreation facilities are supported by state and local dollars, as a private nonprofit the Greenway must look to its members, donors and community partners to support needed improvements. The Greenway’s Board of Managers and staff worked closely to implement planned strategic initiatives, which included a capital campaign that raised over 12.7 million dollars. As a result, several improvement projects have been completed over the last two years, including a lakefront outdoor classroom, wooded amphitheater, a 12-acre dog park featuring lake access, major trail re-routes, and improved wayfinding and property signage, all of which have had a significant impact on visitors’ experience. Also as a result of the capital campaign, an endowment now serves to provide long-term funding for the community’s continued enjoyment of the Greenway. The public has responded positively to the Greenway’s improvements. This is
evidenced in several ways, including membership, which has more than doubled from 2,600 to 5,400 households; an active volunteer base that has increased from 250 to 625 individuals; Friends of the Greenway contributors, which have grown from 47 to 221 families; as well as the quadrupling of annual corporate sponsorship partners. Meeting challenges in a community in flux is often difficult and expensive. Leveraging relationships and resources for the betterment of the public has been a longstanding tradition for Leroy Springs & Co., the founding entity of the Anne Springs Close Greenway. For over two decades, the Greenway has sought to provide recreational opportunities to the community. The real success is in the shared commitment from Greenway members and users, corporate partners and other like-minded organizations to ensure the same exceptional recreation opportunities remain available for generations to come, making Fort Mill and the greater region a better place to live, work and play.
FALL 2016 • SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks 9
Turning
Challenges Into Opportunities
Beyond BASIC
Beyond BASIC: Creating Opportunities for Charleston’s Special Needs Community By Allison Bonner, City of Charleston Recreation Department How does an individual learn the basic life skills needed to live independently or become a contributing member of society? In most cases, we acquire these skills overtime with guidance from teachers, parents and others involved in our daily lives. For adults with special needs in Charleston, there is a program called Beyond BASIC. In an effort to provide more variety and learning opportunities to adults with special needs in her community, Jennifer Tissot, Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator for the City of Charleston Recreation Department, created Beyond BASIC. The mission statement for Beyond BASIC is “to assist adults with special needs in becoming contributing members of society, by providing a program that fosters independent living skills beyond the basics.” Participants
in this program learn new skills and practice regular activities to encourage inclusion within the community. There are five goals that make up Beyond Basic: develop social skills, develop health awareness, develop independent living skills, increase self-esteem, and develop areas of personal interest. This transitional program was created for participants who have aged out of school system programs. Parents and caretakers constantly face fears of what will happen to their child when they pass on. Who is responsible for caring for these individuals? The answer to that question: we are all responsible. It is important for us to help these individuals attain a level of independence to encourage them to become well-functioning members of society.
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Beyond BASIC currently meets in three six-week sessions with a once-per-week class. In a typical 9:00am-5:00pm day, participants could experience planning a budget, learning about nutrition, discussing personal safety, cooking and planning a healthy meal, and so much more. Jennifer works with program facilitators Ashton Johnson and Molly Smith to create a curriculum that provides necessary life skills in each class. Each session may include new and returning participants who have different levels of special needs. Participants, caretakers, parents and all who are involved in Beyond BASIC see the results of the program daily. The challenges of creating this necessary program have evolved into infinite opportunities to the special needs community in Charleston.
Turning
Challenges Into Opportunities
Old Canaan Road Disk Golf
Re-Imagining Undeveloped Property for Public Value By Marcia Murff and Robby Anders, Spartanburg County Parks Department Old Canaan Road Soccer Complex was built in the 1990s and consists of eight soccer fields. When constructed, 40 acres of the property were not developed due to dense woods and the flood plain. The Colonial Pipeline, a 36” gas line running from Houston, Texas to Linden, N.J. is part of that undeveloped 40 acres, and became a haven for hunting and other unsafe activity. While it would have been easy for Spartanburg County Parks Department to leave as-is, instead they focused on re-imagining the space to create public value. After working through the details regarding the easement with Colonial Pipeline Company, the department decided to build a disc golf course on the undeveloped property in partnership with the Hub City Disc Golf Club, the local disc golf club in Spartanburg County. Sean Veilleux, maintenance manager at Spartanburg Parks, managed the disc golf project with his passion for turning unusable pieces of parkland into places promoting
outdoor recreation while embracing the natural environment. The course was built by the Parks Department’s maintenance team based on a design created by Russell Schwartz with Innova Disc Golf. The new course is appropriately named “The Pipeline.” Challenges faced by the department could have easily prevented “The Pipeline” from being constructed. However, turning the challenge into an opportunity to serve the public with a free recreational activity made the challenge worth the time and effort. Brett Moore, president of the Hub City Disc Golf Club, could not agree more. “Taking land otherwise seen as unusable
and turning it into a place of joy for the Spartanburg community is great,” said Moore. “The geographical diversity of the land that caused it to be a challenge to develop makes it a terrific disc golf course with elevation drops of 75 to 80 feet. For us and the parks department, it is a win.”
FALL 2016 • SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks 11
Turning
Team Pain
Challenges Into Opportunities
Snake Run
SK8 Charleston: From Stumbling Block to Snake Run By Nicole Kansas, SGA Architecture Wanting to provide a first-class regional venue for skaters of all ages, the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission (CCPRC) proposed a new skate park in 2009. When the RFQ was advertised in July 2011, little did anyone involved know that a number of unforeseen challenges would arise, and nearly four years would pass before site work could begin in April 2015. After a highly competitive selection process, Hightower Construction was awarded the project. Teaming with SGA Architecture (master planning, design development, landscape architecture, architecture and construction documents), and world-renowned skate park design experts Team Pain (skate element design and construction), Hightower also included a number of consultants required to address the various issues of Lowcountry construction: AECOM (civil), Charleston Engineering
(M/E/P), Tobias & West (structural), and Terracon (soils and testing). Presented with 14 potential sites, SGA defined the selection criteria and created a ratings scale which was used to formulate a matrix to determine the most suitable project site options. The highest rated location was selected and eventually abandoned when CCPRC and SCDOT were unable to reach an agreement regarding easements. When property on Oceanic Street was selected as the final site of SK8 Charleston, Team Pain provided SGA with design input regarding the ideal placement of skate elements within the site parameters. The 200-foot-long snake run features different sized bends, hills, kickers, and roll-ins, as well as a 12-foot-deep competition bowl. With flats modeled after Downtown Charleston, the 300-foot-long street course includes an
12 SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks • www.scrpa.org
intermediate bowl, rails, stairs, funboxes and a quarter pipe. Other features include an event lawn, specialized lighting, a building with covered and uncovered seating, an observation deck, concessions and restrooms. Along with possibilities for future growth, the new site also provided new challenges. The flood zone location needed to meet FEMA requirements, and preloading (surcharging) was required. Numerous regulatory factors contributed to a stringent review process with various agencies. Additional funding for the purchase of the land, supplementary testing, and soil remediation came from
Hightower Construction
The Pro Bowl
CCPRC’s 2013 Capital Improvements Budget and donations from the City of Charleston and the non-profit Speedwell Foundation.
SGA Architecture
This past June, Team Pain completed the construction of the concrete skate elements five months ahead of schedule. Construction of the building and finalization of the park’s landscaping are currently underway, and SK8 Charleston is on schedule to open this December. The teamwork and trust between CCPRC, the design team, and the skateboarding community ensure that SK8 Charleston will be an asset to the entire region.
FALL 2016 • SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks 13
Turning
Challenges Into Opportunities
Learning Culture through Sports: Mount Pleasant Scores Big with British Soccer Camp By Corinne Pavlicko, Mount Pleasant Recreation Department With the rise of more competitive youth sports programs, parents and recreation professionals face many challenging questions. How do we help children absorb real core values from the sports they play? How do we teach them to embrace diversity and grow into team players? Most importantly, how do we provide opportunities for children to play team sports who may not have the access or resources to play? When Mount Pleasant Recreation Department (MPRD) was approached by Nottingham Forest in the Community to offer a new soccer camp this summer, they saw an opportunity to tackle some of these questions head on. Nottingham Forest in the Community is a charitable wing of the Nottingham Forest professional football team - a
division one team in the United Kingdom. The head coach for the program, Graham Moran, has established various projects both in the U.K. and U.S., and currently works with the College of Charleston on a weeklong project for students to learn about soccer in the U.K. The soccer programs that Nottingham Forest in the Community run embody the idea that soccer, or “football” as they call it, is for everyone. MPRD saw this as an opportunity for young athletes in their community to experience the sport from a different perspective, and “Learn to Play the Forest Way.” In addition, Nottingham Forest’s coaches agreed to offer a free soccer program to children at Mount Pleasant’s local community centers following the camp.
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The Challenge: To introduce a new (and foreign) soccer camp to a very saturated, yet thriving soccer community in Mount Pleasant.
The Opportunities: 1. To expose young athletes to soccer through another culture, and help them develop a global mindset for sports. 2. To provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience for children at local community centers to learn the game from professional British athletes. With the help of Nottingham coaches and the College of Charleston, they scored a winning goal! MPRD was able to reach participation numbers by collaborating with Nottingham Forest on a YouTube video that showcased camp drills, coaches’ fun personalities, and heart-warming interviews from children who shared their U.K. camp experiences. The MPRD soccer camp and Charleston Goals program at Mount Pleasant’s community centers turned out to be a great success, and the children enjoyed their “British” camp experience. MPRD is excited for an opportunity to continue their partnership with Nottingham Forest in the Community, and to explore offering more programs that inspire young athletes to be curious about the world and other cultures through playing their favorite sports.
FALL 2016 • SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks 15
Turning
Challenges Into Opportunities
Old Towne Creek County Park
Revenue from the Unexpected By Kaitlynn Meade, Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission Budget cuts are inevitable, especially in the field of parks and recreation. So we must use our resources creatively to generate steady revenue. The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission (CCPRC) has addressed this challenge by granting the public access and renting out their underutilized and unstaffed properties. Not only does this bring in extra revenue, it gives CCPRC the opportunity to showcase facilities that will one day be future public parks. Old Towne Creek County Park is a 67-acre estate with open fields mixed among groves of Live Oaks. Located in West Ashley, Old Towne is currently open only for private rentals and events, from small get-togethers to large-scale weddings. Special public events such as Wine Down Wednesday are also hosted at Old Towne to gain exposure for the property, and in turn, provide another revenue source.
Future CCPRC park site Meggett Park is a 420-acre area of former farmland. With its dramatic views and abundant wildlife, this beautiful piece of property allows for public events like nature walks, photography programs and serene yoga classes. A trained eye can turn any patch of trees into a nature program, whether the property is established or not.
Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve
Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, at the northeastern end of Folly Beach, offers a great location for wildlife observation and photography. The property has become a regular site for organized bird walks and a spot for viewing the Morris Island Lighthouse. A steel box at the park’s entrance now collects a $1 admission fee on an honor-based system. CCPRC has attained revenue by providing locations to the film industry as well. Building good relationships with location scouts is crucial in this process.
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Harmony Hall Meggett Park
Lighthouse Inlet Folly Bird Watch
Scaled just right for developing toddlers and pre-schoolers, the ® accessible Smart Play : Motion 2-5 packs 16 activities into its compact size! From the winding ball track and interactive sand shoot to the climbers and tunnel, Smart Play: Motion 2-5 delivers plenty of developmentally appropriate challenges along with an efficient use of materials. Learn more at playlsi.com or call 888.438.6574 or 763.972.5200.
Wine Down Wednesday
One way that parks and recreation agencies can reach out to location scouts is through the Film South Carolina website, filmsc.com. The site provides a directory of locations for the film industry to view images of properties throughout South Carolina. The better an agency’s relationship with the location scouts, the more offerings will become available. Turning vacant, undeveloped properties into revenue opportunities is something that many parks and recreation agencies can achieve. Do you have underutilized property? Take a step back and look at it from a new perspective.
Carolina Parks and Cary, NC 27 (877) 686-9188 • (919 Fax (919) 469 info@carolinaparksa www.carolinaparksa
877.686.9188 • 919.469.9188 155 carolinaparksandplay.com
FALL 2016 • SOUTH CAROLINA Recreation and Parks 17
Playgrounds for All The success of “joint use” programs in San Francisco and New York shows the benefits of opening schoolyards up to the local community. © 2016 Gail Cornwall, as first published in The Atlantic – Reprinted with permission from author. On a crisp, sunny Saturday morning in February, the yard surrounding San Francisco’s Alvarado Elementary School buzzes with activity. Adept climbers grunt as they swing along three sets of monkey bars, scooters zip across the blacktop, and basketballs bounce alongside playful jibes between parents and children. Over it all, a toddler’s jubilant squeal rings out. Ten years ago silence and stillness would have reigned on the weekend, the gates of the chain-link fence locked. The need for open space can be dire in dense urban environments, especially amid an epidemic of obesity. According to a 2013 report by the nonprofit NYC Global Partners, in 2007 2.5 million New Yorkers lived farther than a 10-minute walk to a park. Meanwhile, “most schoolyards were locked to the surrounding community all summer, every weekend, and every evening.” In many places, they still are. When San Franciscan Mark Farrell sought a flat, car-free space to teach his children how to ride their bikes in June 2011, he recalled fond memories of using the local schoolyard with his father. But when Farrell and his own kids arrived, they found it closed. The story might have ended there—but he happens to be a member of the City’s Board of Supervisors. Farrell investigated and found an unfunded pilot program to reopen schoolyards, created under then-mayor Gavin Newsom’s leadership in 2007, largely sitting dormant. Farrell took matters into his own hands, and this year the Shared Schoolyard Project will expand to 80 schools, opening each space from 9 to 4 on Saturdays and Sundays, often after the fanfare of a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Some were concerned that opening the playgrounds would make them vulnerable to destruction. But a stolen trash can and a broken terracotta pot are the program’s worst reported incidents. Vandalism and trespassing have even decreased. Why? “An active schoolyard is a safe
schoolyard,” Farrell says. Weekend users seem to feel a sense of stewardship, picking up granola bar wrappers, broken pencils, and other school-day detritus. The feeling is mutual. Participating schools aren’t required to open their bathrooms, but Alvarado’s principal Jennifer Kuhr Butterfoss does anyway: “I know what it’s like to be a mom at a playground with a kid who has to go.” Use of the space for weekend events— like Argonne Elementary’s Spring Fair complete with food trucks, carnival games, rock climbing, and live animals as well as smaller gatherings like the community fundraiser organized for a bereaved family at Monroe Elementary—further increase local businesses’ engagement with the schools, and taxpayer goodwill. Opening existing playgrounds to the public is such a clear win-win that it seems like an easy solution to cities’ lack of open spaces. It isn’t. “For more than 200 years, U.S. schools have provided local communities with public assembly spaces as well as space for community programs,” explains a 2008 joint report by UC Berkeley and the Oakland nonprofit ChangeLab Solutions. The concept, known to policy wonks as “joint use,” generates perennial debate in education and urban-planning circles. “School facilities are natural sites for shared use [because they] already have certain features ... such as fences separating fields from busy streets and handicçap accessible ramps,” adds a report out of Harvard Law. Yet stumbling blocks to open access abound. Los Angeles Unified School District’s chief facilities executive, Mark Hovatter, says access to the city’s playgrounds and sports fields isn’t “like it was when I was a kid and you could just walk in and use them on the weekend.” Today, he explains, the district requires permit applications for short-term use and longer arrangements governed by joint-use agreements with
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individual private groups, like club soccer teams. LAUSD currently allows open access to some fields, but increased wear on synthetic turf means it needs to be replaced more frequently, and adds up to millions of dollars.
NYC Parks
Hovatter says state legislation allows the district to charge communities for use of the fields, but that would mean “rich kids would continue to have access, while the ones who need a free place to play the most would not.” But LAUSD can’t just keep bearing the costs, he says. “We have to balance the need for open space against our primary mission to educate kids. We can’t let our desire to prevent unfairness turn us into a parks-and-rec department instead of a school district.” San Francisco surmounted this obstacle by rallying its municipal agencies to work together. Under the pilot program, each city department was expected to simply absorb the cost of participation. Unsurprisingly, only one schoolyard in each of the 11 supervisorial districts opened under this model. Then Farrell came along and jump-started the effort with private fundraising plus involvement of the nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance. An operating budget of $300,000 a year pays for SF Recreation and Parks patrol officers to open and close participating schoolyards, and inspect them each afternoon to see whether SF Public Works needs to jump in for priority cleanup, repairs, or graffiti abatement. SFPD
“Once we saw how well it worked, we knew we had to ... open as many of our schoolyards to the public as possible.” officers check in throughout the day. Participating schools receive two annual amounts: a $1,000 no-strings-attached stipend for the PTA, and a $2,500 activity fund for weekend events “that promote and bring together the neighborhood community.” Still only 30 of 106 schools in the district volunteered to take part. About 25 aren’t eligible for various reasons—the playground for Tenderloin Community School, for example, sits on the building’s roof. The remaining 50 schools opening their yards this year do so at the behest of the SFUSD Superintendent, Richard Carranza. The president of the Board of Education, Matt Haney, explains, “Once we saw how well it worked, we knew we had to make it a priority to open as many of our schoolyards to the public as possible, whatever that takes.”
Daniel Avila / NYC Parks
San Francisco’s joint-use program is modest in comparison with New York’s. Dubbing schoolyards an “underutilized resource” in 2007, Mayor Bloomberg made good on an Earth Day speech promise and launched the Schoolyards to Playgrounds Initiative, allocating more than $100 million in funding. The program immediately opened 69 schoolyards— from school close until dusk Monday through Friday, and from 8 to dusk on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays—by reimbursing each school custodian up to $50,000 a year for associated labor and maintenance.
Though the City reduced capital funding in 2009 and 2011, the remaining money— and private matching dollars provided by one nonprofit, Trust for Public Land, as well as help from another, Out2Play—funded renovation of 160 more schoolyards across all five boroughs with investments in play structures, sports equipment, trees, benches, fencing, turf, landscaping, and the sealing and painting of surfaces. In at least one case this meant transforming a parking lot into an oasis of color and movement. First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh says NYC Parks identified candidates by looking for neighborhoods with high population density (or a population projected to grow), limited existing play space, and a lack of vacant land for development. Since the Department of Education was reluctant to give up control of its property, Kavanagh reports, the city agreed to handle procurement and construction, partnering with schools and communities in the design process, and then to turn the completed sites back over to DOE to maintain and operate. It isn’t the first time NYC Parks and DOE have formed a tag team. In 1938, the renowned city planner Robert Moses—dubbed a visionary by some and reviled by others—began the Jointly Operated Playgrounds program. “As the city was growing and developing new neighborhoods, they decided to set aside adjacent land for parks and playgrounds whenever they built a new school,” says Kavanagh. To this day, 265 playgrounds next to schools are owned by DOE but operated and maintained by NYC Parks. The specifics vary by site, but they are all open to the public, sometimes even during the school day. If San Francisco’s experience proves the feasibility and benefits of increasing use of existing public resources, New York’s makes a larger point: The more people who will ultimately utilize a space, the
Jointly operated playgrounds in NYC (1956)
higher the likelihood of both civic and private investment in it. In response to the crisis in education funding created by California’s Proposition 13, many school districts sold off property. A high school in East Palo Alto, for example, was demolished and replaced by a Home Depot. Cutting costs and liquidating assets is a common impulse when faced with budget shortages. The successful jointuse programs for the schoolyards of San Francisco and New York, however, show that our public entities may be better off doubling down, increasing and diversifying use of their facilities. Gail Cornwall is a writer based in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Salon, and The Huffington Post.
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SOUTH CAROLINA RECREATION & PARKS ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 1046 Lexington, SC 29071-1046