By Emily Tate
COLUMBUS – The city of Columbus has expanded, renovated and modernized its park system over the past few years, but for the fifth year in a row, it has ranked low among the nation’s largest.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
In its annual Parkscore index, the Trust for Public Land ranked Columbus’ park system 65th among the 100 largest cities’ systems. The report’s authors consider factors such as access, size and quality of facilities.
Minneapolis ranked highest in this most recent report, followed by St. Paul and Washington, D.C.
Top 10 park systems in US
1-Minneapolis
2-Saint Paul
3-Washington, DC
4-Arlington, VA
5-San Francisco
6-Portland, OR
7-New York
8-Irvine, CA
9-Boston
T10-Cincinnati
T10-Madison, WI
Still, many Columbus residents say they are satisfied with their options, and city officials say the Parkscore does not account for all that Columbus parks have to offer.
“The study is, by nature, subjective,” said Brandi Braun, a spokeswoman for Columbus Recreation and Parks. “Every park system is designed to be responsive to its respective community, so it’s like comparing apples to oranges.”
Columbus City Councilwoman Jaiza Page, chairwoman of the Recreation and Parks Committee, acknowledged the report’s merits.
“It’s not necessarily the most encouraging, but it does kind of give us an idea of where we are,” Page said.