WHY WE LOVE PARKS

San José’s parks are where you gather with family, celebrate culture, play after school, walk the dog, and take a breath. They help make neighborhoods healthier, safer, and more connected.

Our goal is simple: Clean, safe, and well-maintained parks for every neighborhood.
To get there, we’re working with the community on two connected efforts:

1. Exploring dedicated funding options to better maintain and care for parks
2. A new Parks and Recreation Master Plan to guide where we invest

WHY PARKS NEED SUPPORT

Well-maintained parks increase property values, support neighborhood safety, and improve quality of life. But keeping parks safe, clean, and well-maintained is a growing challenge.

Right now, park maintenance funding is not consistent. Today, most park maintenance is funded through the City’s General Fund, which also pays for police, fire, libraries, and other critical services.

Because of that, park funding can change with the economy and has faced significant cuts in the past. When funding is unreliable, it means:

• Less routine maintenance
• Delays in fixing playgrounds, restrooms, sports fields, and landscaping
• Higher costs later when small problems become bigger ones

With consistent funding, you’d feel the difference. We could visit your parks more often and stay longer—keeping them greener, safer, and more welcoming for everyone.

Over the years, we’ve improved efficiency by using maintenance contractors and empowering volunteers to help us take care of parks.

We’ve also leveraged technology to improve efficiency and accountability, including our Business Intelligence System to track park maintenance, smart irrigation and water management tools, and GPS-connected maintenance vehicles and equipment.

But the reality is we don’t have enough resources to meet your expectations.

Since the early 2000s, less people are taking care of more parks:

San José has more than 200 parks and over 65 miles of trails to take care of.
The Trust for Public Land evaluates park investment in the nation’s 100 most populous cities. San José ranks 15th among California’s most populated cities for maintenance spending — only $37 per person.

Exploring Dedicated Funding Options

To ensure every neighborhood has clean, safe, and well-maintained parks, we’re exploring options to create a dedicated funding source for park maintenance.

A dedicated funding source would mean more stable, reliable, and protected funding for park care—so we can maintain parks consistently, even when the economy changes (which is when people may need their parks most).

WHAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING COULD DO

With more consistent funding, we can visit parks more often and stay longer to:

• Repair broken playground equipment within weeks instead of months
• Mow lawns more frequently and keep restrooms open and clean
• Address litter, graffiti, vandalism, and illegal dumping faster
• Remove weeds to reduce the risk of wildfire

This is the day-to-day park care that families notice — and deserve.