Parks Environmental Services

54 miles

Knoxville, Tenn., has more than 54 miles of paved greenway and more than 60 miles of soft surface trails, putting it on good footing as bicycle usage increases.

Read more about Knoxville’s recreation options on page 18.

Focus on: Parks & Environmental Services

$100 million

Tuscaloosa, Ala., built its amphitheater for $18 million in 2011; it has resulted in over $100 million in private investment around it.

328 tons

The tonnage of aquatic plants that had been removed in 2020 from Silver Lake in Portage, Wis.

Read about more cities amphitheaters on page 28.

Learn how cities are keeping their waterways in good condition on page 22.

2,000

Over 2,000 kids played sports in the spring of 2021 through Springdale, Ark.’s, parks and recreation department’s programming. This is up from 1,921 in 2016 and 1,916 in 2018.

Find out more about cities’ youth sports programming on page 36.

.1% to .2%

The Colorado Springs City Council approved a 20-year extension of the Trails, Open Spaces and Parks sales tax while also increasing it from .1% to .2% on a $10 purchase.

Source: https://www.fox21news.com/news/local/colorado-springs-city-council-approves20-year-extension-of-trailers-open-space-parks/

85%

The National Recreation and Park Association’s “2021 NRPA Park and Recreation Salary Survey” found park and recreation agencies typically cover this percentage of their full-time employees’ health insurance premiums.

Source: https://www.nrpa.org/publications-research/ research-papers/salary-survey-results/

$1 Million

Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s, ReLeaf initiative raised more than $1 million in private funds to replant after the 2020 derecho.

Source: https://www.thegazette.com/local-government/ cedar-rapids-releaf-initiative-raises-over-1m-in-private-funds-to-replant-after-derecho/