Lexington’s parks belong to all of us, and it’s our job to take care of them | Opinion

I believe in the power of parks.

Wallace Stegner articulated my beliefs about the power of parks when he said, “Parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best.”

Parks are our best idea because they embody the values that make communities thrive. Parks are spaces where the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness take tangible form. Parks are accessible, universal, and timeless.

They hold our memories, our joy, our casual encounters. They are where we have family reunions, cultural and civic celebrations, parades, and non-structured and structured recreation. They drive our economy and tourism and make our city more livable. For many of us, they are part of our daily lives.

Parks are places where anyone, regardless of background, age, or income, can find respite, joy, and connection without barriers or costs. We meet old and new friends to share the common ground of our humanity.

They are the commons that belong to all of us, and it is our responsibility to care for them.

Voting Yes for Parks establishes a dedicated fund for Lexington’s parks from our property taxes, providing over $8 million annually to improve and develop neighborhood parks, playgrounds, walking and hiking trails, and other recreation facilities in our city.

Why should we invest in parks?

The statistics are astounding. Investing in parks effectively improves our individual and collective quality of life indicators — life satisfaction, sense of meaning and purpose, future outlook, a sense of belonging to the local community, and mental and physical health.

The extended value of robust public park spaces and programs is what’s immeasurable — the memories, emotions, and moments that shape our lives.

How do you quantify that I met my wife by chance walking a dog in Gratz Park? Or our children celebrating their first and subsequent birthdays at the Castlewood Park playground? How do you measure my kids learning to swim and meeting friends on the Woodland Park swim team? How do you calculate the social, emotional, and physical impact of running with friends at Ravens Run, Hisle, Veterans, Masterson, Jacobson, and Shillito Park?

How do you quantify the joy of performing in the Thriller parade among thousands after learning the zombie dance at the Parks-operated Carver Art Works Center? Or planting generational trees during Reforest the Bluegrass with my kids, trees that will still grow in our parks for their kids? Or the feeling of running across the finish line at the Parks and Recreation-organized Bluegrass 10,000 on July 4th?

How do we quantify the impact of the Therapeutic Wellness Program, Miracle League baseball, art programs, afterschool programs at the community centers, the Dirt Bowl, Ballet Under the Stars, the Woodland Art Fair, Friday Night Flicks, Nature Walks, The Day of Dead, Camp Kearny, and all the fantastic community members who make these and hundreds of other park programs possible?

Parks and park programs touch hundreds of thousands of citizens yearly, leading to similar moments of immeasurable well-being.

One of the biggest stories in sports currently is Lexington Native Walker Buelher’s heroics in winning the World Series. He did what only two baseball players have done in history: start and relief pitch in a World Series. His story began in Ecton Park, playing Eastern Little League Baseball.

The choice is ours.

As we have talked to our neighbors about the positive impact of sustained park funding, one common denominator is that people love and use their parks and they want to see investment in them.

Investing in parks is about creating the community we want to live in. Let us choose to be a community that values the power of parks, values its people, and understands the deep connection between the two.

Join me in voting Yes FOR Parks in the coming days.

Griffin VanMeter is a volunteer organizer with the Yes for Parks campaign.

This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 12:36 PM.