Durham closes playgrounds in 5 parks amid lead contamination testing
Courtesy of Axios Raleigh
By Zachery Eanes
NORTH CAROLINA - The city of Durham closed playgrounds and other areas in five of its parks while it conducts additional soil lead tests. A 2022 study by a Duke graduate student found some parks in Durham that were previously home trash incinerators or used ash as infill between 1900 and 1950 had lead concentrations higher than EPA standards.
Durham's former incinerators had been in Walltown, East End, East Durham, and Lyon parks — all located within historically Black neighborhoods, N.C. Newsline reported. Northgate did not have an incinerator but ash was used as infill in the park.
Read more:
https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2024/05/07/durham-playgrounds-parks-lead-contamination-testing
The House approves the Special District Grant Accessibility Act
Courtesy of the National Special Districts Coalition
In a major victory for special districts and the National Special Districts Coalition (NSDC), the House approved this evening the Special District Grant Accessibility Act (H.R. 752). The legislation, which was cleared on an overwhelming 352 to 27 vote, would codify a first-ever formal definition of special district. Additionally, the bill would direct the White House Office of Management and Budget to require federal agencies to ensure that special districts are eligible for all appropriate forms of federal assistance. Action now turns to the Senate, where NSDC is working with key Members in an effort to advance a companion measure.
Read more:
https://www.nationalspecialdistricts.org/house-passes-the-bipartisan-special-district-grant-accessibility-act-h-r-7525
Exploring the COVID-19 pandemic’s influence on park and recreation design
Courtesy of NRPA
By John Lavender
The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a wakeup call, underscoring the vital importance of having easily accessible parks and interconnected trail systems in close proximity to neighborhoods. When urban planning prioritizes these aspects, it goes beyond enhancing community well-being and accommodating the growing demand for outdoor recreation — it responds to the fundamental human need to nurture social connections. In a perfect world, the implementation of such initiatives holds the promise of cultivating communities that are not only more robust, interconnected and inclusive, but also are better prepared to confront other unforeseen challenges that may arise in the future.
Read more:
https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2024/may/the-covid-19-factor/
Is your community ready for a parkour park?
Courtesy of Parks and Recreation Business Plus
By Heidi Lemmon
Parkour has been around for centuries and provides a full-body workout, which has led to the development of current fitness trails and military obstacle courses. Modern parkour consists of daredevils leaping between buildings, somersaulting off walls, and scaling tall buildings. This doesn’t really sound like an activity a recreation and parks director would be interested in, but it does sound exactly like a skatepark proposal from the 1990s: a wild idea presented by a ragtag group of kids and young adults to duplicate city obstacles for use in a public park.
Just as public skateparks have proven to be a huge success, with over 20,000 in the U.S. alone, recent developments suggest that parkour parks will also be successful, not only as a space for athletes but also for the sport’s spectators to gather, watch, and be inspired.
Read more:
https://www.prbplus.com/running-jumping-and-flipping/
At Casey & Fetterman’s Urging, Defense Officials Abandon Plan to Endanger PA Wilds
Courtesy of casey.senate.gov
PENNSYLVANIA - Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman (D-PA) announced that the Air Force and National Guard Bureau has rescinded their proposal to create a low-flying training zone Duke Military Operating Area (MOA), which would allow pilots to fly as low as 100 feet above ground level. After hearing concerns from North Central Pennsylvania organizations and residents about the possible dangers this plan would pose to the Pennsylvania Wilds region’s economy, environment, and quality of life, Casey and Fetterman have repeatedly pushed the Air Force to abandon the plan.
Read more:
https://www.casey.senate.gov/news/releases/at-casey-and-fettermans-urging-defense-officials-abandon-plan-to-endanger-pa-wilds
Erasing Graffiti
Courtesy of Parks and Recreation Business Plus
By Margo Gordon
TEXAS - The City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department in Texas encompasses a distinctive division within its programming portfolio – the Graffiti Abatement Program (GAP). Unlike typical offerings, it is specifically tailored to address the pervasive issue of graffiti within both the park system and the broader municipality.
Crucially, GAP's financial backing comes from the Crime Control and Prevention District, a special tax district reliant on voter support for funding crime-prevention and community-based intervention programs. Since its inception in 1995, there has been a noteworthy decline in violent crime and illicit graffiti activity.
Read more:
https://www.prbplus.com/erasing-graffiti/
Nearly 200 studies show economic & health benefits of trails
Courtesy of Headwaters Economics
Headwaters Economics has expanded its free, curated library of 188 high-quality studies that measure the wide-ranging benefits that trails can bring to communities. Discover the latest research that illustrates connections between outdoor recreation, economic well-being, and public health benefits.
For more information:
https://headwaterseconomics.org/trail/
Sherburne County and tribal nations collaborate on county park
Courtesy of NACo
By Meredith Moran
MINNESOTA - It was a man’s dying wish for his farm to become a county park. The 430-acre property sits on a mile of lakeshore and is home to dozens of wildlife species. The land is also a sacred Native American burial ground.
Sherburne County, Minn. is working with tribal nations to ensure that its creation of Big Elk Lake Regional Park is respectful of the land’s indigenous roots and offers opportunities for Native Americans to reconnect with their ancestral ties. “We have an opportunity here to really honor what’s there and what’s been there,” said Gina Hugo, Sherburne County Public Works parks director. “And that means letting the tribal partners guide the development of the park.”
Read more:
https://www.naco.org/news/sherburne-county-and-tribal-nations-collaborate-county-park
Supporting Older Adults Through Parks and Recreation Report
Courtesy of NRPA
Local park and recreation agencies have been offering programs and services to address the diverse health and wellness needs of the growing older adult population for decades. With the population of individuals ages 65 and older projected to reach 94.7 million by 2060, these programs and services are essential to meet the needs of aging community members. Now available, the Supporting Older Adults Through Parks and Recreation report demonstrates the need for and importance of park and recreation programming and services in supporting healthy aging and social and intergenerational interconnectedness.
Download:
https://www.nrpa.org/contentassets/2ebf5a9eed0a493a8ea1c74bf5735aa1/nrpa-older-adults-report.pdf
2024 NRPA Agency Performance Review
Courtesy of NRPA
The 2024 NRPA Agency Performance Review supports the park and recreation industry by allowing agencies to evaluate their performance against their peers, validate the need for resources and funding, and gain a greater understanding of the current state of the field nationwide. We hope you enjoy reading this year’s report.
Download:
https://www.nrpa.org/publications-research/research-papers/agency-performance-review/
E-bikes are a ‘game changer’ for bike shares
Courtesy of Planetizen
By Daniel C. Vock
E-bikes make cycling more accessible and help riders reach more destinations. “Other modes of transportation—including for scooter shares and traditional bikes—saw declines during the early days of the pandemic, but there has been a ‘steady increase’ in the use of e-bikes ever since they have been rolled out, said Samantha Herr, the executive director of the North American Bikeshare & Scootershare Association.
Read more:
https://www.route-fifty.com/infrastructure/2024/05/e-bikes-are-game-changer-bike-shares/396236/
