Jax Park System Ranked 34th of 40 Largest Cities

[JFman00]

http://parkscore.tpl.org/rankings.php

"The rating system looked at the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park, the proportion of local land dedicated to parks, and the number of playgrounds and spending per capita on systems."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/23/us-embargoedusa-cities-parks-idUSBRE84M06T20120523

[tufsu1]

Apparently Mayor Brown will be announcing soon a plan to enhance our parks

[bobsim]

  I got a good chuckle out of that. The problem with the Jacksonville park system is the population of Jacksonville. Most folks here don't play outside. Cutting the yard or a trip to the beach is their outdoor adventure. There are so many great parks in or around Jacksonville but most of the time they're empty. I think the people here would rather gather together elbow to elbow at RAM than walk through the woods or paddle down a quiet creek.

  We use the parks quite a bit and are very impressed with them.

[JFman00]

My biggest complaint (as borne out by the ranking) is access. I don't know of any parks within 10 minutes walking distance, so if I want to go to any park at all, I have to get in my car and drive there. The nearest one I know of is a basketball court and playground with rubber underlayment (not a blade of grass on the place). Not much for an adult to do there, and still more than a 10 minute walk. That might be well and good if there was a really unique park for me to go to, but I have yet to find one in Jacksonville that I find worth the drive.

[Tacachale]

I feel your pain. I temporarily live in a condo complex that makes it absolutely impossible to walk anywhere, let alone to a park, the closest of which is two miles away.

A lot of people just don't seem to care about this. For a lot of them, the beach is their park, whether or not they have to drive to it. I can understand that, but I'd rather have parks I can walk to in addition to the beach.

FWIW the intown neighborhoods are much better with this than the 'burbs.

[bobsim]

  I can understand that but as spread out as this city is I don't think expecting a quality park within a 10 min. walk is reasonable. Not sure what your preferences are but Tiger Point Preserve is a gem located off Cedar Point Rd.  Shelters, tables, grills, small pier and lots of trails. Very shady area usually with a nice breeze. Here's a map of other preservation projects:http://www.coj.net/departments/recreation-and-community-services/waterfront-management-and-programming/preservation-project/map.aspx

[JFman00]

If Sacramento and Virginia Beach can be top 10, we can do better than 6th from the bottom. Even Phoenix is No. 16, and my mental picture of Phoenix is suburban hellscape.

[Jason]

I think if they would have scored the urbanized area of Jax, our ranking would be MUCH higher.  This is still a case of city limits discrepancies.

Given the Jax (Duval) landscape and size, frankly, I think it is very positive to still be ranked as high as we are when compared to the other cities on the list.  Jacksonville has no shortage of parks and if you live in the "older" areas of town you are likely within a mile of a park at worst.

And hey, Jax still ranks above Indy and Charlotte....  ~

[fsquid]

wonder if they counted the greenway in Charlotte, many in town can walk to that, but I guess that doesn't count as a park.

[simms3]

The "ranking" doesn't tell the whole story.  It's true that Jax is so spread out and that surely hurts.  It probably doesn't help that city spending on parks per capita is probably pretty low.  I would contend that in terms of nature preserves Jax is probably among the tops in the country, but in terms of "parks" it is not really ahead of any of the city's peers.

I'm not aware of too many preserves in Charlotte and its suburbs are hell compared to Jacksonville's (in terms of traffic, layout, aesthetics), but Charlotte has been ramping up its urban parks front in the past decade to great success and is far far ahead of Jacksonville.  Nashville has some great urban parks, some with long history.  Birmingham is crushing the urban parks front and is really just turning out to be impressive.  Jacksonville has the park-land, it just needs some city attention, perhaps some donors/endowment, and community effort to do the same thing.  Neighborhood associations to fund and maintain local city parks (Boone as an example) and endowments devoted to improving and maintaing/running the larger citywide park assets (Emerald Necklace as an example).

[simms3]

Ok, after some time to digest the ranking/site -

http://parkscore.tpl.org/city.php?city=Jacksonville

I quickly compiled the data.  Be the judge for yourself.

Park Acreage (a metric that is useless without the other details below)
Houston   49,643
San Diego   47,383
Phoenix   45,020
Jacksonville   44,108
New York   38,060
Virginia Beach   33,677
Albuquerque   32,535
Dallas   29,401
El Paso   29,393
Austin   28,911
Los Angeles   23,938
San Antonio   23,316
Oklahoma City   21,841
Charlotte   18,551
Kansas City   17,272
San Jose   15,982
Louisville   15,939
Milwaukee   15,189
Portland   13,864
Chicago   11,959
Fort Worth   11,312
Columbus   11,274
Indianapolis   11,147
Phildaelphia   10,886
Nashville   10,765
Memphis   9,140
Washington   7,464
Detroit   5,921
Denver   5,902
Seattle   5,476
San Francisco   5,384
Sacramento   5,069
Baltimore   4,905
Boston   4,897
Tucson   3,892
Atlanta   3,882
Long Beach   3,331
Las Vegas   3,072
Mesa   2,244
Fresno   1,511

Parks as % of City Land (a metric that doesn't tell the full story)
San Diego   22.8%
New York   19.6%
Washington   19.1%
Albuquerque   18.8%
El Paso   18.0%
San Francisco   17.9%
Portland   16.2%
Virginia Beach   15.9%
Boston   15.8%
Austin   15.2%
Phoenix   14.2%
Los Angeles   14.1%
San Jose   14.1%
Phildaelphia   13.0%
Houston   12.9%
Dallas   10.7%
Long Beach   10.3%
Seattle   10.2%
Baltimore   9.5%
Milwaukee   9.2%
Jacksonville   9.2%
Kansas City   8.6%
Chicago   8.5%
Columbus   8.1%
Sacramento   8.1%
San Antonio   7.9%
Louisville   6.7%
Denver   6.0%
Nashville   5.9%
Detroit   5.7%
Oklahoma City   5.6%
Atlanta   5.6%
Fort Worth   5.2%
Indianapolis   4.8%
Memphis   4.5%
Charlotte   4.1%
Las Vegas   3.5%
Tucson   2.7%
Mesa   2.6%
Fresno   2.1%

Median Park Size (Acres)...probably a metric that should not be weighted at all
Charlotte   19.87
Phoenix   14.58
Nashville   12.93
San Antonio   11.11
Indianapolis   10.30
Austin   10.00
Memphis   10.00
Las Vegas   7.91
Fort Worth   7.40
Milwaukee   7.30
Louisville   7.30
Dallas   7.20
San Diego   6.70
Oklahoma City   6.70
Los Angeles   6.66
Columbus   6.60
Denver   6.30
Sacramento   5.70
Houston   5.15
Jacksonville   5.00
Fresno   4.90
Portland   4.80
Virginia Beach   4.10
Tucson   4.10
Albuquerque   4.02
El Paso   3.70
San Jose   3.70
Phildaelphia   3.70
Kansas City   3.30
Long Beach   3.20
Mesa   3.15
Atlanta   3.00
Seattle   2.75
Chicago   2.00
Detroit   2.00
San Francisco   1.97
Boston   1.30
New York   1.10
Baltimore   0.83
Washington   0.70

City Spending per Resident (probably a metric that should be weighted more)
Washington   $303.45
San Francisco   $291.66
Seattle   $260.77
Las Vegas   $218.93
Portland   $162.45
Sacramento   $156.62
New York   $152.39
Virginia Beach   $139.63
San Jose   $135.68
Kansas City   $135.06
Long Beach   $130.54
Phoenix   $128.52
Chicago   $128.08
Denver   $122.38
San Diego   $121.47
Dallas   $110.03
Boston   $105.70
Tucson   $100.64
Atlanta   $99.39
Nashville   $91.33
Charlotte   $78.94
Fort Worth   $76.16
Austin   $71.57
Columbus   $68.94
Phildaelphia   $65.71
San Antonio   $62.79
Baltimore   $62.63
Oklahoma City   $61.02
Mesa   $60.96
Memphis   $60.32
Albuquerque   $60.11
Milwaukee   $59.54
Los Angeles   $55.14
Fresno   $54.98
Louisville   $50.76
Jacksonville   $44.82
Indianapolis   $43.61
Houston   $42.99
El Paso   $31.12
Detroit   $31.00

Playgrounds per 10,000 residents (probably a metric that should be weighted less)
Virginia Beach   5
Detroit   4.31
Sacramento   3.88
Jacksonville   3.5
Boston   3.44
Phildaelphia   3.34
Baltimore   3.14
Albuquerque   2.78
San Jose   2.65
Denver   2.42
Chicago   2.3
Fort Worth   2.3
Kansas City   2.17
Tucson   2.17
Portland   2.12
Seattle   2.11
El Paso   2.11
New York   2.05
Atlanta   2.02
Oklahoma City   2.02
Las Vegas   1.99
Houston   1.93
Columbus   1.9
Nashville   1.88
Dallas   1.8
San Francisco   1.78
San Diego   1.78
Washington   1.68
Memphis   1.68
Louisville   1.65
Indianapolis   1.6
Long Beach   1.5
Austin   1.48
Fresno   1.35
San Antonio   1.3
Charlotte   1.25
Milwaukee   1.19
Mesa   1.16
Phoenix   1.04
Los Angeles   1

People served per park acre (also probably a metric that should be weighted more)
New York   206
Chicago   203
San Francisco   145
Phildaelphia   127
Boston   122
Mesa   117
Fresno   109
Baltimore   107
Long Beach   97
Seattle   95
Detroit   92
Las Vegas   84
Los Angeles   82
Denver   79
Washington   77
Sacramento   69
Tucson   68
Atlanta   66
San Jose   39
Milwaukee   34
Fort Worth   33
Portland   32
Columbus   31
Memphis   27
Indianapolis   23
Dallas   22
Houston   20
Nashville   20
San Diego   20
San Antonio   18
Kansas City   17
Louisville   14
Phoenix   14
Albuquerque   12
Austin   12
El Paso   10
Charlotte   10
Oklahoma City   9
Virginia Beach   8
Jacksonville   5

Largest Park in the City (this metric is not weighted, but it does tell a little bit of a story)
El Paso   25,631   Franklin Mountains State Park
Phoenix   16,094   South Mountain Preserve
Houston   9,270   Cullen Park
Los Angeles   8,960   Topanga State Park
Jacksonville   7,870   Timucuan Preserve
New York   7,138   Gateway National Recreation Area
San Jose   6,800   Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge
Louisville   6,201   Jefferson Memorial Forest
San Diego   5,840   Mission Trail
Portland   5,157   Forest Park
Indianapolis   4,766   Eagle Creek Park
Albuquerque   4,596   Shooting Range Park
Phildaelphia   4,167   Fairmont Park
Austin   3,715   Walter Long Met Park
Fort Worth   3,662   Fort Worth Nature Center
Dallas   3,643   Mountain Creek Lake Park
Virginia Beach   3,572   False Cape State Park
Memphis   3,200   Shelby Farms Park
Nashville   3,133   The Warner Parks
Kansas City   2,381   Longview Lake Park
Washington   1,754   Rock Creek Park
Sacramento   1,746   American River Parkway
San Francisco   1,491   The Presidio
San Antonio   1,392   Rancho Diana
Chicago   1,216   Lincoln Park
Baltimore   1,200   Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park
Columbus   1,156   Three Creeks Park
Mesa   1,144   Red Mountain Park
Detroit   1,100   Rouge Park
Oklahoma City   988   Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge
Charlotte   853   Reedy Creek Preserve
Long Beach   850   El Dorado Park
Las Vegas   660   Floyd Lamb Park
Milwaukee   625   Whitnall Park
Boston   567   Stony Brook
Seattle   534   Discovery Park
Tucson   346   Christopher Columbus
Denver   314   City Park
Fresno   300   Woodward Park
Atlanta   268   Chastain

Most Visited Park...which ones have you heard of or been to?
Albuquerque   Balloon Fiesta Park
Atlanta   Piedmont Park
Austin   Park at Lady Bird Lake
Baltimore   Fort McHenry Nat'l Monument
Boston   Boston Common
Charlotte   Park Road Park
Chicago   Lincoln Park
Columbus   Schiller Park
Dallas   Fair Park
Denver   City Park
Detroit   Belle Isle Park
El Paso   Eastwood Park
Fort Worth   Trinity Park
Fresno   Woodward Park
Houston   Hermann Park
Indianapolis   White River State Park
Jacksonville   Drew Field Which park is this???
Kansas City   Swope Park
Las Vegas   Floyd Lamb Park
Long Beach   El Dorado Park
Los Angeles   Griffith Park
Louisville   Louisville Waterfront Park
Memphis   Overton Park
Mesa   N.A.
Milwaukee   Veterans Park
Nashville   Centennial Park
New York   Central Park
Oklahoma City   Myriad Botanical Gardens
Phildaelphia   Fairmont Park
Phoenix   Encanto Park
Portland   N.A.
Sacramento   Old Sacramento State Park
San Antonio   SA Missions National Park
San Diego   Mission Bay Park
San Francisco   Golden Gate Park
San Jose   N.A.
Seattle   Green Lake Park
Tucson   Gene C. Reid Park
Virginia Beach   First Landing State Park
Washington   National Mall

[WmNussbaum]

The statistics cannot possibly be accurate. I'll bet a bunch they failed to include the Shipyards Park, the Southside Generating Station Park, and the Olde Ruins (a/k/a Laura Street Trio).

[Captain Zissou]

It's no secret that we have a very large, but largely neglected park system.  Especially considering our small population, our park acreage per resident is huge.  That means even at a decent funding level relative to other cities, we just wouldn't have an adequate pool of funds to properly maintain our huge park system.  We need to focus on a few of our jewels and really make them shine (Hogan's creek greenway).  Alvin Brown recently alluded to this and I trust that he will make it happen or at least die trying.

[JFman00]

Here's what an inner suburb of Chicago looks like:

http://g.co/maps/7udhu

Here's what an inner suburb of Jacksonville looks like:
http://g.co/maps/2swfc

Hard to see Jax's acreage advantage this way. I'm curious how much acreage Jax has if you don't count preserves (Chicago/Cook County doesn't, and it has 68,000 acres of forest preserve). Also, found what might be Drew Field: http://g.co/maps/j3ebq

[Tacachale]

^The more I look at this the more off it looks. And a comparison to Chicago is certainly not apples-to-apples. The vast majority of the Cook County Preserve is outside of the city of Chicago. In Duval County clearly most of the park land is within Jacksonville. In this metric anyway, preserve land within Chicago is being counted as inside Chicago as you can see here.

Additionally, the numbers are wrong. In Duval, including the preserves the total acreage is more like 70-80 K, not 44,108. The vast majority of this is under the care of the COJ; it's not split between different governments, and there are a ton fewer taxpayers to split the cost. And of course these numbers leave out the vast majority of the beach, which is both well used and maintained at taxpayer cost.

In terms of park locations, interior areas of Jax compare better than San Marco, from impoverished neighborhoods like the Eastside to wealthy Avondale.

IMO our issues are the upkeep of the parks we do have, the lack of a major downtown park (ie Hogan's Creek/Confederate Park), and the lack of park access in some areas. These are things an effective administration could help with. Our strengths are an enviable amount of preserve land, of which several thousand acres are accessible, quality state parks, some quality neighborhood parks in the old city and scattered around in the suburbs, and of course the beach, which functions as a park for the entire metro area.