Most In Wilmette, All In Kenilworth In Walking Distance To Parks

WILMETTE-KENILWORTH, IL — It’s no secret that public parks are essential to a community’s health, particularly for kids. They provide a safe place for people to gather, explore and play. They give dogs a place to frolic. They often increase the value of surrounding homes. And they can serve as a home for major festivals and events.

But new data crunched by The Trust for Public Land released last week suggests many Americans — one in three — don’t have access to a quality park within a 10-minute walk of their home.

Not so along much of the North Shore. In Wilmette, 26,130 people — 96 percent — of residents live near a park and only 1,029 residents live in so-called “park deserts.” Meanwhile, none of Kenilworth's 2,534 residents live longer than a 10-minute walk from a park.

Here’s a park breakdown of Wilmette and Kenilworth

Total parks

• Wilmette: 20
• Kenilworth: 6

Total acreage

• Wilmette: 221, equal to 167 football fields.
• Kenilworth: 10

How many kids live within a 10-minute walk of a park?

• Wilmette: 96 percent
• Kenilworth: 100 percent

As for neighboring towns, virtually 100 percent of Evanston residents and 95 percent of people in Winnetka are within the group's definition of walking distance. About three of four Glenview residents can walk to a park – leaving out 12,499 people, and in Northfield, 67 percent of people can walk to a park as easily.

Nationwide, just 54 percent of people in urban areas live near a park, the organization found.

“Today, more than 100 million people in communities across America don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of home — and that’s 100 million too many,” Diane Regas, president and CEO of the organization, said in a release. “ParkServe will help us address this challenge, so every person in America can experience the countless benefits of having a park close to home.”

The group recently released a mapping tool showing what areas of Wilmette could be best served by more local parks. The dark green areas on the map indicate existing park space and the red areas show neighborhoods that need a park.

The blue circled numbers indicate the best locations for new park development, ranked by how significant an impact it would have on the neighborhood. The data indicate that adding a park in east Wilmette would have the greatest effect, followed by either southwest or north west corners of town.

The group says this is the first time in America’s history that every park in each urban municipality has been mapped. Residents can now determine who has and who lacks walkable access to a park, an important tool for city planners.

The tool also allows people to see the percentage of residents who live near a park by income, ethnicity, age and other demographic factors.

“The ParkServe data platform takes the guesswork out of planning where to put a park,” said Breece Robertson, the director of the group’s geographic information system. “It tells mayors and recreation departments, ‘To serve the most people in need, build a park right here.’”

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed.