Public parks are quite literally for everyone – but let’s face it: it’s the kids’ opinion that really matters.
The quality of parks has a major impact on young people’s health, according to a 2020 study by researchers from Duke University and the University of California at San Francisco, which concluded that children who had access to parks were less likely to suffer from obesity, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
With so many park options in Kalamazoo, NowKalamazoo partnered with Merze Tate Explorers, a Kalamazoo girls’ travel writers group for 3rd through 12th graders, to find out which city of Kalamazoo parks the kids like best, and why.
The group chose their favorite 10 of the city’s 15 parks and ranked them 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, based on a multi-category approach that ranged from safety and fencing to lawn care and facilities like bathrooms to playground and signage. They also surveyed kids and adults. Only parks in neighborhoods were included in the survey, with a criteria to be within walking distance for kids and families. NowKalamazoo took those results to city parks officials.
Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Ashton Anthony said he wasn’t surprised by where many of the locations placed in the rankings.
“There are a few parks that we know need some improvements toward the end of the list,” Anthony said. “There’s a couple on the list that are actually getting some improvements this year.”
You can read the Merze Tate Explorers’ survey details and results here.
From least to most favorite:
10. Sherwood, Krom & Prouty parks (tie)
9. Farrell Park
8. Rockwell Park
7. Upjohn Park
6. Reed Street Park
5. Henderson Tot Lot
4. Spring Valley Park
3. Milham Park
2. Frays Park
1. LaCrone Park
Sherwood and Krom & Prouty both had averages of 1.0, Farrell, Rockwell and Upjohn all fell in the 2.5-3.0, indicating fair to near-average ratings. Reed Street, Henderson Tot Lot and Spring Valley each scored between 3.3 and 3.5, falling in the “average” range. Milham Park got a 4.0 average (“good”), while Frays and LaCrone earned 4.6 and 4.7, respectively, just a bit short of a perfect 5.0 (“great”) rating.
Anthony said the LaCrone Park has a lot of amenities, which is why it’s a “Super Rec” park, one of five parks where free summer camp programs run by the city are located. The camp was started in LaCrone in 2015 and expanded in the years that followed.
Another attraction at the park was the splash pad, which opened in 2022. Anthony said families and the Northside Association for Community Development were the driving force behind its construction, because it wasn’t originally feasible with the department’s $3.2 million annual budget. He said the community came out in force to lobby the city to get it built. Because of that, the project was pushed to the front of the line.
“Community input is huge,” Anthony said, and it came in several forms. The biggest was helping in the formation of the five-year parks and recreation master plan, which informed what the department would try to do with the fraction of funding they had for capital improvement, or being able to get grants from the state or federal government.
Parks officials said of the $3.2 million annual budget, more than $2.2 million goes to employees: maintenance and engineering staff, janitorial services, and seasonal employees like lifeguards and camp staff.
The nearly $1 million left over goes toward equipment, maintenance, and the programs held in the city.
A major drag on the parks and recreation budget was vandalism, according to Anthony. It also resulted in several amenities being removed from city parks because there wasn’t enough money to continue replacing damaged items.
The master plan was last put together in 2023 and covers 2024 to 2028. The focus of that plan is 10 city parks, some of which have projects in the works. Others are waiting for grant approval from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Anthony said the department had just applied for three grants to work on Milham Park – for improving parking, trails, facilities, and other amenities – which was one of the 10 priority parks in the master plan. The department wouldn’t know until December if it would be able to get the money, which would then be used for projects in 2026.
“The park has not seen a lot of infrastructure improvements over the last 20-25 years. So, that money’s kind of being eaten up by having to redo the parking lot,” he said.
The dam removal along Portage Creek, which runs through the park, was done with DNR funding initially awarded to the city in 2019.
Several parks on the Merze Tate Explorers’ list were also on the 10 priority parks master plan list, which is why Anthony and Parks and Recreation Director Patrick McVerry said they were not surprised by the popularity of those parks.
“Farrell Park was one. Rockwell, Spring Valley – those are the ones that got on the list here,” McVerry said. He added that another “fan-favorite will hopefully be able to be improved on in the next handful of years or so.”
The 11-acre Frays Park, the No. 2 choice, saw upgrades in 2018, which included new tennis and pickleball courts, sidewalk replacement, and new paths.
Parks like Upjohn Park have amenities like the Kik Pool, which is getting infrastructure funding this summer. Anthony said artificial shade structures and a new diving board were planned additions. There would also be “boring” repairs to items that exist behind the scenes, like the boiler that heats the pool.
“Nobody really notices (the boiler), but you notice if it’s not working. If you’re getting into the pool and it’s freezing cold, things like that,” he said.
Rockwell Park had received grant funding to create a special request from the neighborhood that would be unique to parks in the city.
“We’re going to turn the tennis court into a traffic playground for kids to be able to use to learn how to ride their bikes through different traffic situations,” Anthony said. “That’s something we haven’t done before.”
He said stop signs and road painting markers would be put up after the asphalt in the area was resurfaced. Two parks that were not on the list will be getting improvements this year because of the master plan: Verburg Park and Princeton Park.
Anthony said Verburg Park, which is near downtown, along the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, was slated to have a kayak launch area, a bike tire pump, and a playground, which, he observed, was part of every park on the list.
“That would be one of the parks that I think will surface on a survey like this, if it were to be done again,” he said.
He said Princeton Park, in the Northside neighborhood, was also getting upgrades in 2025, but these would be customized for the space, which is about the size of a house lot.
The community input was crucial in creating the amenities in the neighborhood parks and, sometimes, it was the neighborhood that decided to take over the park to create the environment.
Anthony said that was the case with Krom & Prouty Park, which was taken over by the Northside Association for Community Development and Charlie’s Place through an Adopt-a-Park program.
“They’re actually working through some plans with some of the residents, as far as what type of amenities kids would like to see there, so that will be coming up in the next few years,” he said.
This collaboration between NowKalamazoo and Community Voices is part of the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative’s coverage of equitable community development. SWMJC is a group of 12 regional organizations dedicated to strengthening local journalism. Visit www.swmichjournalism.com to learn more. Learn more about Merze Tate Explorers at MerzeTate.org.
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