Opinion: Mecklenburg County parks offer so much — but they could be even better
Live, work, play. This phrase has become ubiquitous among economic developers, tourism offices and real estate agents. Locally, Charlotte’s got a lot. However, if you’ve been around Charlotte for any number of years, you may have heard our park system needs some help. The Trust for Public Land ranked Charlotte/Mecklenburg County 95 out of the 100 largest U.S. cities in regards to access, investment, acreage and amenities offered by park systems.
Still, we’ve got some great parks and amenities. By the numbers, Mecklenburg County has over 210 parks and facilities located on more than 21,000 acres of parkland. This includes 94 neighborhood parks (think Lincoln Heights Park), 48 community parks (think Park Road Park) and 29 regional parks (think Freedom Park).
These parks are home to 190 playgrounds, 152 picnic shelters, 149 tennis courts, 109 basketball courts, 44 volleyball courts and more. Additionally, the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department provides access to 27 nature preserves, 16 community gardens, 14 disc golf courses, 14 fishing piers, seven spraygrounds, six dog parks, five public golf courses, five pools and three nature centers.
In addition to parks and facilities, Park and Rec offers programming throughout the year – adult and youth athletics, senior health programs and special events. Park and Rec provides environmental education and can train you as a Master Naturalist. Ever considered boxing lessons? What about camping by Lake Wylie? Ready to channel your inner Tony Hawk at the skate park? Park and Rec can even help with your special day.
COVID-19 changes
Like many organizations, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation has pivoted due to COVID-19. Most parks are now open. However, social distancing is necessary, which has nixed playgrounds, spraygrounds and sports courts for the summer.
A lot of options are still on the table, however – picnics in Independence Park, fishing at Hornets Nest Park, disc golf at Kilborne Park or a stroll through Evergreen Nature Preserve – our park system offers lots of recreation options even during the coronavirus pandemic.
Back to the beginning, though, we’ve got some work to do.
Only 37% of Mecklenburg County residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, compared to 55% nationwide. Our parks only have 0.6 bathrooms per 10,000 people. And we’re spending far less per capita than many of our peers. This is where we can advocate for more (and improved) parks. Easy ways to support investment in our parks include using parks regularly, reaching out to Park and Recreation Commissioners and voicing our desires to County Commissioners.
Does Charlotte have some great parks? Definitely. Could we use more? For sure. Although COVID-19 has kept us from music in Romare Bearden Park, Festival in the Park, and Bark in the Park this year, we’re fortunate to have public open space across our city.
To find a park or recreation opportunity near you, visit parkandrec.com and click the blue “Park Explorer” button. But don’t take my word for it – as Park and Rec’s mascot RAY says: Get out there and “Recreate All Year.”
