May 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 36

are often most prevalent in communities that are already underserved and
where resources are less available.
Safety is a major concern for park users.
If a park is perceived to be unsafe, community members may not use it. Strategies such as leaving lights on at night
and increased police patrols and neighborhood monitoring programs can help
improve safety at parks. Safe and affordable public transportation allows community members who may not have
access to a car to get to and from parks
more easily. This may be the only opportunity these individuals have to engage
in physical activity. Establishing joint-use
agreements between schools, parks, and
other local organizations is another great
way to provide community members
with increased opportunities for physical
activity. Joint-use agreements allow facilities to be used by more members of the
community and during extended hours.
" Outdoor recreation and access to
nature play a vital role in the physical
and spiritual health and well-being of us
all, " said Assistant Secretary for Health
Dr. Howard K. Koh. " New ideas and opportunities for enhancing healthy living
outdoors will prevent disease and ultimately improve Americans' quality of
life. " Park and recreation agencies are
providing these opportunities-helping
to improve the health of their communities through safe and attractive park and
recreation facilities.
Personal safety concerns are often
a barrier to park utilization. One community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is
using trained outreach workers to increase perception of safety at parks
and encourage community residents to
use their parks for physical activity. The
idea came from youth violence prevention work in Minneapolis and community feedback indicating that perceptions
of safety were a main reason why certain neighborhood parks were underutilized. Outreach workers, identified
by special uniforms, are stationed on
the perimeters of three parks where they
engage potentially disruptive youth in

34 Parks & Recreation

MA Y 2 0 1 1

Another community in
Kauai, Hawaii, has
improved access to their
parks by expanding bus
service at night and on
the weekends.
conversation and invite them to participate in organized activities at the park or
recreation facility. They also interact with
neighboring residents to promote park
programming and reinforce the idea
that parks are a safe place for everyone.
The anticipated outcome of this intervention is to increase community residents'
perceptions of safety (attributable to the
adult presence and supervision provided by the outreach workers) and encourage greater and consistent park use by
community residents, particularly families and young children.
Another community in Kauai, Hawaii,
has improved access to their parks by
expanding bus service at night and on
the weekends. Community residents are
able to utilize public transportation to get
to and from parks safely. They are also
working to encourage active transportation by installing bike racks in strategic
locations around the county. The anticipated outcome of this environmental
change is an increase in the number of
commuters who bike to bus stops and utilize the bike racks at popular destinations.

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Other communities have improved
access by establishing and implementing joint-use agreements with schools
and other local organizations. Policies
establishing and implementing joint
use agreements allow all members of a
community to have access to their parks
and other facilities, increasing their opportunities for physical activity. Efforts
in Washington, D.C., where a public
school system directive allowing for
joint use already exists, have focused
on how to effectively implement those
joint-use agreements. To help with implementation they will be purchasing
signs for their schools and parks which
they hope will let community members
know the parks and playground facilities at schools are open even during the
evening, while also relieving the District government from liability. There
is often a perception that these facilities
are closed after normal hours, and installing better signage will help change
the perception at the school or park and
relieve officials concerned about potential litigation.
A number of resources are available
to help you work towards increasing access to parks for all people, especially those in underserved communities.
The American Public Health Association
(APHA) has policy recommendations for
transportation and health. The National Policy and Legal Analysis Network
(www.nplanonline.org) has a checklist
and other resources to help communities establish joint use agreements. The
Active Transportation Alliance (www.
activetrans.org) provides information
on Safe Park Zones and other ways for
promoting active transportation to encourage community members to be
physically active.
NRPA supports communities that are
implementing successful practices to promote health and wellness. For more information on these programs, please visit
www.nrpa.org/achieve or www.nrpa.org/
cppw.

KelLIE MAY is NRPA Program Manager.

Melinda Fawve / shutterstock

Public health continued from page 33

May 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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