TRAPS Legislative Task Force Update
TRAPS Joins the Trust for Public Land’s ‘Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act’ Coalition
Today, the Texas Recreation and Park Society Executive Committee approved TRAPS’s entry into the Trust for Public Land’s “Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act Coalition.” This coalition is made up of over 300 nonprofits, community groups, and companies that are calling for an emergency $500 million investment in local parks.
This historic, one-time investment will put local parks to work as communities recover from dual health and economic crises. Together, we can create good jobs, spur economic development, and expand outdoor recreation, all while addressing historic inequities in park access.
Why now?
During the coronavirus pandemic, the outdoors have taken on a whole new importance. Parks are where we turn for exercise, fresh air, and finding respite from anxiety and grief. But in too many communities, parks are too few and far between, unwelcoming, rundown, or unsafe. Elsewhere, open space is blocked by locked gates and “No Trespassing” signs.
Just as America’s great outdoors have never been more in demand than they are during the pandemic, the consequences of park inequities—for our health, resilience, and prosperity—have never been more acute. COVID-19 is a wake-up call: the time to address the long-standing gaps in outdoor access and quality has come.
What are the details?
The Parks, Jobs and Equity Act will establish a federal grant program administered by state and local governments, which will ensure park investments happen quickly and respond to local priorities. All cities with a population of over 30,000 would be eligible, and unlike similar programs in the past, these funds would not require a local match – allowing cities and towns suffering from declining revenues to make strategic, priority investments. For more information, visit www.tpl.org/parks-jobs-equity-act.
What can we accomplish?
Create over 8,000 new jobs. We can also preserve 100,000 at-risk seasonal jobs through investments in recreation services – like park programming – in addition to creating new jobs and job training opportunities building parks.
Add $1.37 billion to local economies. These federally funded grants can greatly assist state and local governments and revitalize local economies hit hardest by COVID-19. In 2017 alone, local parks in the U.S. generated more than $166 billion in economic activity, and this program will protect the growing sector from pandemic-related losses.
Fund over 1,000 new or upgraded local parks. These parks will help the one-in-three Americans, including 28 million kids, without close-to-home access to nature during the pandemic. By investing in local parks, playgrounds, trails, and green spaces in communities where they’re needed most, we can help provide critical health infrastructure.
Who is involved?
Over 300 groups from across the country signed on to support the Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act over the last year. From neighborhood park clubs and mom-and-pop outdoor stores to racial equity groups and public health organizations, the breadth of support we see demonstrates just how critical this funding is. For a full list of coalition members, visit www.tpl.org/parks-jobs-equity-act.
For more information on what this means for TRAPS, contact Jeff Achee, Legislative Task Force Chair jachee@harkerheights.gov or the TRAPS State Office at traps@traps.org.