GreenWorks Supports the Portland Parks Levy

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Children enjoy the nature-based play area at Westmoreland Park. The Portland Parks Levy would ensure places like Westmoreland Park are maintained at the levels we need.

Children enjoy the nature-based play area at Westmoreland Park. The Portland Parks Levy would ensure places like Westmoreland Park are maintained at the levels we need.

Recreation and public parks are indispensable parts of our communities. They give us space we need to relax, exercise, and express ourselves. Unfortunately, Portland’s 11,000+ acres of parkland and 470 Parks department-run facilities will face vast cuts if we don’t act.

That’s why we’re supporting Portland Parks & Recreation’s Parks Levy. Measure 26-213 will restore programs to the City’s community centers and pools, expand access to its recreation activities, as well as maintain its playgrounds and restrooms. As the situation stands, Portland funds 27% of its parks and recreation system with user fees. The City was not generating enough revenue to keep our levels of park programming going, and the pandemic has made it dramatically worse. Measure 26-213, the Parks Levy, would fix this.

In our work across the Pacific Northwest, we see the benefits parks and parks programming have on communities. These public places and public programs are some of the most important things making up our “social fabric”. Each connection we make within our communities makes us stronger.

“Portland has a legacy of world-class parks and recreation facilities. My 30+ years of working with recreation, open space, public infrastructure, and environmental agencies in the Pacific Northwest has taught me we need more of these places, not less.” Mike Faha, founding principal of GreenWorks said. “We’re supporting this measure because investment in these kinds of public benefits strengthens our communities. We must prioritize places where we can connect people with each other and with nature—especially with the challenges we are facing right now.”

The Parks Levy will also make Portland’s parks and recreation system more equitable by removing the reliance on user fees, allowing more people who need the kinds of benefits our city’s wonderful public spaces and services provide. This will help our communities welcome all Portlanders.

To learn more about the measure, click here.