Residents Want More Parks, Playgrounds, Programs

Asked about their parks, residents of Spokane County responded with a list of mores: more playgrounds, more youth programs and more neighborhood parks.

Many residents also said they are willing to pay more money to have these things, according to a survey and three neighborhood meetings.

The telephone survey of 225 residents in the unincorporated area found broad support for county parks and some frustration that more facilities and programs, especially for kids, aren’t available.

The same feelings were echoed at a series of meetings, including one held last Thursday at Northwood Junior High.

The information is being used to draft a five-year plan that will guide county park managers into the next century.

It is the first update of the parks plan that will be governed by new county policies adopted under the state Growth Management Act and applied in a time of both population growth and decreasing government money. As of July 1995 there were 191,406 residents in the unincorporated area, an increase of 16 percent from 1989, when the last plan was drafted.

Under the new policies, parks and recreation facilities must meet minimum community standards. Those guarantee a certain number of parks, softball fields, playgrounds and trails per 1,000 residents.

If an area is below the standards, no new development can be approved unless there are enough park facilities.

“It’s going to be a super challenging undertaking just to get through this,” said parks Director Wyn Birkenthal.

Categories such as recreation land can be easy to meet, and exceeded, in large part due to lands such as Mount Spokane State Park, the Centennial Trail, Liberty Lake County Park and the Dishman Hills Natural Area.

The standards for neighborhood parks, even with school facilities included, may be more difficult to be met in the north suburban area.

Residents at the Northwood meeting were especially concerned about the lack of any park land in the Gleneden area and the Calkins neighborhood, where some 3,000 apartment units are planned between Lincoln and Magnesium Roads.

Residents surveyed agreed that impact fees must be collected to help pay for playgrounds and that some annual fee to support parks, perhaps $25 or $50, is necessary. The county does not collect any of those fees currently.

Instead, parks money comes from user fees and the county general fund.

North suburban residents already are organizing to bring a park-improvement district to the area. The prospect needs voter approval before a fee can be imposed.

Among the findings of the survey and the three meetings:

The Centennial Trail had the highest use, with 68 percent of residents saying they had used the trail within the past two years.

In North Spokane, 27 percent visited Terrace View Park and 24 percent Bear Lake Park within the past two years.

The need for more playgrounds ranked first among residents with a desire for more lake access, natural areas and trails, neighborhood parks and community centers close behind. The lowest need cited was for more golf courses.

As far as programs, there was a reported need for more swimming and after-school programs as well as activities for at-risk youth.

Residents are unlikely to drive between the North Side and the Spokane Valley to use other parks, even regional gems such as Dishman Hills and Liberty Lake. Just 19 percent of North Side residents had visited Liberty Lake Park and 16 percent had visited the Dishman Hills Natural Area within the past two years.

, DataTimes