Seattleites love their parks: The Seattle City Council on Tuesday approved a huge proposal from the mayor that would double the size of the property tax that funds parks – with no organized opposition.
Mayor Bruce Harrell — who is also naming a new parks superintendent Thursday — said the funding will help with upkeep at "nearly" 500 parks.
But on the mayor's announcements, in the legislation, and even on Google — there are different (and sometimes conflicting) numbers of parks in Seattle.
It turns out that it comes down to how you define a park.
When acting superintendent Christopher Williams started at Seattle Parks and Recreation 29 years ago, there were 450 parks. But today the number is a little vaguer — he said it's "485 plus."
That's because much of Seattle Parks and Recreation land isn't what most people would really consider a park.
"People typically associate parks with lush green lawns or benches and play areas and jogging paths," Williams said. "And I can name 15 parks that don't fit any of that criteria."
Some of these places are barely bigger than Williams’ office, like Laurelhurst Triangle. Others aren’t really accessible to the public. Some places with "park" in the name are like that, such as Me-Kwa-Mooks Park in West Seattle, which is mostly a dense woods on a steep grade with very narrow trails.
The city categorizes such spaces as undeveloped greenbelts and natural areas. They make up a huge chunk of Seattle park land – almost 40% of the department’s 6,500 acres.
Why is it important to make the distinction? Consider Crescent Place: a spot near Green Lake that Google calls a park. It’s land owned and maintained by Seattle Parks and Recreation.
But if you could see Crescent Place, you would not think it was a park. It’s really just a grassy circle in the middle of a roundabout with some bushes, a flagpole and an old lamppost lacking a bulb.
"Because of its size, its diminutive size, and lack of amenities," Williams said, "you know, it's like, well, what would you do there other than drive by it?"
This gets at the central question of a park: Williams said a park is something the public should be able to use.
