This November, we have the opportunity to ensure our parks serve all Portlanders—by restoring recreation programs and protecting parks and natural areas and by making all of our parks programs more accessible to those facing financial challenges. Forest Park belongs to all of us! The proposed parks levy provides support to ensure that together we are building a diverse community of stewards to care for the park for generations to come.
Parks Need Our Help
The coronavirus pandemic, closure of community centers and pools, and cancellation of recreation activities have created a multi-million-dollar deficit for Portland Parks & Recreation.
This measure—a five-year local option levy—is essential to restore these cuts, re-open community centers and pools, protect essential programs for families with lower incomes, and provide the recreation services we all count on.
What the Proposed Parks Levy Will Do
The proposed Portland Parks & Recreation levy is also a critical first step towards fulfilling our shared vision for a more stable parks and recreation services that can better serve all Portlanders, by:
Restore recreation
- The levy would restart recreation programming, ending a reliance on user fees to deliver programming, and make equity and affordability the primary goals.
- The levy would support fitness classes, arts, senior programs, youth programs, and environmental education.
- The levy would keep the doors open at Multnomah Arts Center, Community Music Center, and Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, and fund the operations of a North Portland pool to name a few.
- The levy would provide programs for children experiencing poverty—including a summer playground lunch program, life-saving swim lessons, outdoor camps, and recreation scholarships.
Protect natural areas and parks
- The levy will help protect the 8,000 acres of natural areas including Forest Park and care for the 1.2 million trees on parks lands surrounding Portland’s rivers, creeks and streams, which are vital to preventing pollution and ensuring clean water.
- This levy will protect our urban forest and plant more trees in the city parks that currently lack them, like East Portland.
Boost Maintenance
- The levy will keep parks and restrooms cleaner and safer for all Portlanders, improving service in existing parks while also ensuring new parks get their necessary care as well.
Improve Equitable Access
- The levy will reduce parks’ reliance on fees, expanding recreation opportunities for communities of color, refugees and immigrants, and families experiencing poverty.
- Reducing reliance on fees will also expand access to programs for children experiencing poverty, including a summer playground lunch program, life-saving swim lessons, outdoor camps, and recreation scholarships.
- The levy will make sure our popular culturally specific and most popular programs, such as Stand with Refugees and Immigrants, Portland World Soccer Tournament, and Summer Free For All continue.
Preventing further job cuts
- PP&R has the City of Portland’s largest—and one of the most diverse—workforces, and the bureau is the city’s largest summer employer of youth. But as a result of the COVID-related closures, 1,700 recreation program employees were either laid off or not hired for the summer.
- The levy will prevent further job cuts for the frontline parks workers who care for our parks and provide recreation services.
To learn more and get involved, visit Portlanders for Parks website.