Cleveland’s city parks are nothing to brag about yet, according to the latest “ParkScore” report from the Trust for Public Land. The national nonprofit ranked the city’s park system 31st among the 100 most populous cities. That’s down from 21st last year. In the latest report, Cleveland landed behind Cincinnati (8th) and even behind Toledo (27th).
Many of the city’s public parks need upgrades, more trees, and, in some cases, total makeovers. That’s too bad since 81% of Cleveland residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park, which is slightly above the national average, according to the Trust for Public Land annual survey.
Sean Terry, Trust for Public Land’s Ohio director, wasn’t surprised by Cleveland’s drop. He said other cities spent more federal stimulus dollars on parks and “other cities took the route of being a little bit more strategic, using some funding to really focus on planning.”
“That’s the category that Cleveland falls in,” he said. “It’s a slight dip, but one that, quite frankly, everyone anticipated. So there aren’t pressures of ‘why are we sliding and what’s going on.’”
Terry said Cleveland is among those cities expected to spend more in the coming years.
Mayor Justin Bibb recognizes the middling quality of the parks. In 2022, the city launched what he described as the first-ever master planning process for Cleveland’s 172 parks and 23 recreation centers. The goal of the master plan is to ensure spending on parks results in a more equitable parks system across the city.
But for now, Cleveland’s ranking benefits from lakefront properties managed by the Cleveland Metroparks, which took control of Edgewater Park and others more than a decade ago and has improved their amenities.
If you take these out of the equation, Cleveland’s park ranking would “drop down quite a bit,” Terry said.
“I think there is a lot of room for growth,” he said. “Quality is definitely an area that the city is aware of in the respect of public perception and needing to have public assets mirror those of the Metroparks.”
Cleveland could also someday leverage schoolyard playgrounds. That’s what the Trust for Public Land tries to do through its Community Schoolyard project. It’s currently redoing a playground at East Cleveland’s Caledonia Elementary, the first Ohio school to get a hand from the project.
Terry said the Trust for Public Land is also eyeing Cleveland schoolyards.
“I know right now they’re focused on other, bigger matters,” he said. “And when that time is appropriate, we would love to step in and help.”
In the meantime, the Trust for Public Land is helping revive discussions about bringing a mountain bike trail to Kerruish Park in the Lee-Harvard neighborhood on the southeast side. The city began studying the idea 10 years ago. The park has long generated complaints about ATV and motorcycle users illegally riding through the park.
“It’s one that really has so much room for imagination given the amount of available acreage,” Terry said. “Through our relationship with the International Mountain Bike Association, we’ve elevated it.”
Terry hopes that maybe a mountain bike trail could be “a way to reach, particularly to the younger audience, and capture those thrill-seekers and get them into something more suitable for the community while also increasing access to nature.”