Anthony
Williams for Mayor

A Vision for Parks and Recreation in the District

Background

Washington is truly a city of parks. Twenty percent of the city's land is park land, perhaps more than any other major city. Washington is also situated on two river, the Potomac and Anacostia, which provide recreation and additional open space. The Washington Board of Trade teas found Washington's parks to be its most important asset in attracting business, and when Money magazine recently gave Washington a high rating as a place to live and wok the parks were a m major factor in the rating. Washington's parks provide a broad range of leisure activities, preserve natural environments, and offer visual relief from the intense urban structure.

But the parks are expensive to maintain, even though a large proportion of the park land is owned and maintained by the Federal government, and the rivers — especially the Anacostia — are badly polluted. Many large parks are inaccessible to the city's residents. The city is responsible for several hundred parks and playgrounds, ranging from small landscaped area to recreation complexes containing swimming pools, athletic fields, and buildings with gymnasiums, indoor pools, and meeting and activity rooms. During the past several years, with the elimination of capital and heavy maintenance funds for the Department of Recreation and Parks "(Department)", these city properties have deteriorated badly. Capital funds are now increasing, and the Department teas found private partners for the improvement of a number of other facilities. But many years of deferred maintenance has left us a monumental job to bring properties back to an acceptable standard.

Benefits of Recreation

Recreation responds to a number of human needs: the need for relief from the stresses of school, work, and other day-to day activities, the need for companionship, the need for competition in a non-vocational setting, the need for physical activities that contribute to good health and a strong body. Recreation is particularly important for young people for physical training, training in cooperation, and as a diversion from crime and other antisocial behavior. A former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia has remarked that an overwhelming proportion of juvenile crime occurs between 3:00 PM and 10 prime time for youth recreation activities.

The Future

The new mayor must find a way to restore and expand valuable recreation, educational and cultural programs in balance with the financial needs of other agencies. The new mayor must focus on the use of parks and recreation to revitalize the city and serve the needs of is residents. The best programs, including park maintenance, must be strengthened, and the park system must be seen as an investment in economy and in educating the city's children.

The extensive system of recreation centers must become a community resource, providing safe-havens for children, before- and after-school educational and recreational programs., and effective leisure and sports programs to give children an alternative to "hanging out" and street crime.

Bringing the Community Together

Recreation centers should be programmed to provide for activities that will bring the community together, including traditional recreation teams, other neighborhood social events, and the capacity to refer families to essential city social services. Citywide recreational and cultural programs can travel from one major center to another, bringing the greater community together in a positive environment. The recreation and parks program must focus on the development of stronger communities, economic development, and natural resource conservation.

Partnerships

To do this with necessary limits on expenditures, the Department must continue to develop partnerships with other public, private, and nonprofit organizations. It already has launched such a program, "Partners 2000", and has a number of neighborhood partners. Businesses are sponsoring athletic teams. But the resources of these neighborhood efforts are limited. Several citywide organizations, such as the Make A Wish Foundation and Washington People and Parks have been organized and have drawn foundation and other funding on a large scale. There are two Boys' and Girls' Clubs organizations providing systems of recreation centers throughout the area. The city must support these larger efforts, as well as the smaller ones, by providing seed money and technical assistance and demonstrating to foundations that the government is committed to effective park and recreation programs. The Department must develop synergies with other agencies — DC Public Schools for athletics and after school programs; the Commission on the Arts and Humanities for cultural activities; and the Department of Human Services for the establishment of neighborhood service centers.

A Park Strategic Plan

The Department needs to develop a Recreation and Parks Strategic Plan, which will identify recreational and cultural programs, support activities (such as maintenance and other management programs), and a capital program for a five- to six- year period. It must monitor its implementation of this plan, and revise it every five years. The plan must have extensive citizen participation in its preparation, review, and adoption. Goals and operational objectives must be set and performance measured in tams of these objectives. A key component of this plan should be enhancing the relationship between the Department and the DCPS so that the parks can become a integral part of the educational process, especially during the summer. As Mayor, I will provide the leadership to ensure that this strategic plan becomes a reality and that our parks and recreation centers serve as models for the rest of our country.

Environmental Preservation

The City needs to undertake effective environmental preservation programs necessarily regional in cooperation with other governmental jurisdictions. The time is right for river preservation because the Potomac River has been designated a National Heritage River, and the Anacostia recognized as an endangered resource. The White House has indicated a willingness to support park and recreation programs in the District of Columbia and on its rivers. Pollution has been reduced and shorelines preserved on the Potomac, but substantial work needs to be done to bring the Anacostia back to life. This will take effective cooperation with the State of Maryland and Prince George's County, because most of the pollution and silt in the river originated in Maryland.

Initiatives

• Develop and support recreation centers, such as Banneker, Guy Mason, Kenilworth Parkside, and Benning Park as community centers, with extensive athletic programs, seniors and younger children's activities, cultural programs, and community services, such as referrals to social agencies. Identify, as part of the strategic plan, other recreation centers that can be converted into full community centers.
• Develop new youth-oriented cultural facilities, such as a Children's Theater east of the river that could provide performing arts programs and vocational training in such fields as set design, carpentry, electrical maintenance, business, and clothing design and manufacture, as well as training in dance, music, and theater.
• Work with the National Park Service and nonprofit groups and coalitions for effective preservation of natural areas, and improvement of appropriate levels of access. Encourage NPS to develop a regional plan, coordinated with the District's plan, for the preservation and maintenance of national parks in the region.
• Institute an Anacostia River in cooperation with such existing nonprofit organizations as the Anacostia Watershed Society and the Organization for Anacostia Rowing and Sculling. Encourage the National Park Service to develop a management plan for the Anacostia Park and coordinate it with plans for the National Arboretum.
• Develop a rational management and capital plan with assured funding for parks and recreation facilities.
• Expand and support the Department's partnership activities, with additional emphasis on foundation and corporate funding and cooperation with non-profits with access to these funds.
• Require and support cooperation between the Department and DCPS in after-school programs, facility maintenance, and athletic programming.
• Keep more city pools open in the summer for longer hours