Tucson School Playgrounds to Become City Parks

by David Safier

OK, this is a good idea: turn school playgrounds into parks during after school hours and weekends.

It’s not finalized, but TUSD and the city are looking at opening the gates to 12 elementary schools on a trial basis. If it works out well, the goal is to open all school playgrounds to the public.

Tucson has much less park space per resident than most cities, and this will not only increase the amount of available space, but it will bring parks right into people’s neighborhoods.

And the cost to the city, according to Councilman Rodney Glassman, will be under $40,000 a year, which includes opening the playgrounds during the summer. You don’t have to be a tax-and-spend liberal like me to think that’s a lot of bang for the taxpayer’s buck.

It’s simple good sense to make maximum use of the stuff you have. Every hour a school or other public facility sits idle when it could be put to good use is money and opportunity thrown away. But it takes a little outside-the-box thinking to make things like this happen. Let’s hope this city-school bridge building is a sign of things to come.