For many, their closest connection to local governments comes through the parks systems.
Regional parks are where families come for sporting events, picnics and community events. Many others use park amenities individually, from swimming pools to golf courses, or the region’s extensive trails and bicycle path systems.
“I think parks meet a huge need in an urban community,” said Dane Woll, president and CEO of the YMCA of Southern Arizona.
Pima County officials have sought to improve and expand the regional park systems with a $191.5 million improvement plan on the November ballots.
Listed as Prop. 428: Parks and Recreation Facilities on the seven-question, $815.7 million bond package, the proposal includes new construction, improvements and expansions among 48 parks projects.
Supporters of the proposal say the region needs more and better park facilities to add to the quality of life and help economic development by making the region more attractive to outsiders.
By one measure, at least, the region falls short in the parks category.
The Trust for Public Land 2015 ParkScore ranks Tucson at 64th for parks among 75 major cities.
The report notes that less than 3 percent of the city’s total acreage is devoted to park space.
Other measures included were one dog park per 100,000 residents, 1.2 basketball hoops per 10,000 residents and 3.6 playgrounds per 10,000 people.
“We are under-parked in Pima County,” Woll said.
A particular interest to Woll and the YMCA is a $6 million proposal to build a YMCA facility on 10 acres the University of Arizona plans to donate near the UA Tech Park, 9070 S. Rita Road.
The organization plans to raise $6 million in matching funds for construction, and would foot the bill for maintenance and operations.
“Who wins with that? The community wins,” Woll said, noting the YMCA has a similar arrangement to operate the Northwest YMCA, built with bond funds from 1997.
Bond opponent and county Bond Advisory Committee member Gary Davidson knows well the dearth of park space throughout the region, as well as the benefits parks bring to the community.
“It very much pains me to say this, because there’s some good proposals,” Davidson said.
His main concern is with what he calls a geographic imbalance of projects in the proposal.
Looking at the placement of projects on the map, Davidson points out that a vast swath of territory in midtown and north-side Tucson has almost none of the 48 proposed park projects.
“The city has identified this area as one of the most park-stressed areas,” Davidson said. “This area was totally left out, and I just won’t support that.”
The areas bounded by Oracle Road to the west, Craycroft Road to the east, Broadway at the south and north to the Catalina Mountains has just two parks projects, although it’s one of the most densely populated regions in the metro area.
Those projects include about $2 million for sports-field lighting additions at Brandi Fenton Memorial and Rillito parks.
Davidson said he thinks it was wrong to neglect the area for parks projects because of the high population density, number of school-age children in the areas and the long-standing community needs present in the region.
He also questioned proposals to invest more than $30 million for three projects at the county Kino Sports Complex — many of them aimed at capturing tourist dollars from youth sports tournaments — when much of the community still struggles from the effects of the 2008 recession.
“To me, that’s definitely putting the cart before the horse,” Davidson said, noting the region should first address public safety, poor roads and a lack of neighborhood parks and community centers before investing in a sports tournament facility.
The Kino Complex proposal calls for purchasing additional property south of the existing facilities to develop additional sports fields and a tournament complex.
Another Kino-area project calls for $2.3 million for repurposing Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium and Kino Sports Complex as a multisport facility for youth, amateur baseball and professional sports.
The plan would also allow the facilities to function as venues for concerts, the gem show and other events.
Another project in Prop. 428 includes a $3.5 million plan to build a velodrome, an oval bicycle track with steep, banked turns.
The proposal calls for a 2,000-seat facility that could be used to hold various events.
The county plans to partner with the nonprofit Perimeter Bicycling Association of America to operate the facility.
The group has agreed to help raise an additional $1.5 million to fund construction.
Initial estimates put the annual economic impact of the velodrome at $12 million.
