Take This Survey — And Help Make King County Parks More Equitable

Zip code, income, race, ethnicity or immigration status shouldn’t affect our access to good transportation or safe, inviting parks and outdoor nature spaces. At WTA, we work to reduce barriers to access, strengthen outdoor experiences and advocate for equitable public lands. So we know just how important equity considerations are to parks, trails and natural areas.

King County Parks, one of our partners, also wants to improve connections to nature for every resident, especially in areas like South King County where residents may face more obstacles to accessing parks, trails and other outdoor recreation opportunities. The first step to creating good solutions is to listen to community members.

Parks are places all people should have the opportunity to enjoy nearby. Photo by Jerry Coupe.

King County residents: What are your needs and barriers to parks and trails?

King County Parks has teamed up with The Wilderness Society and the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) to launch the Equitable Park Access Community Survey. The survey asks King County residents to share their priorities, needs and barriers around all aspects of park, trail and natural area access. This includes things like transit, safety, cost and accessibility.

• Live in King County? Take the survey before Thursday, July 29!

The survey is open until Thursday, July 29. Survey organizers are hoping for strong responses from communities most impacted by inequitable green space in King County, being residents of south King County and Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian, refugee and immigrant communities. The survey is offered in nine languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Swahili, Somali, French, Khmer, Korean and Simplified Chinese.

This survey was prompted by studies in the last several years that have exposed the inequities in access to green spaces. The survey also contributes to a broader needs assessment being produced by King County Parks and community partners that will be used to help make decisions about new parks projects, grantmaking, investments, levy planning and other focus areas. Alongside a number of community-led roundtables, the survey will allow those most impacted by greenspace inequity to provide their feedback on long-term King County Parks and King County Metro planning solutions.

• Take the survey before Thursday, July 29!

Trails for everyone

Accessing the outdoors should be inclusive for all. Check out our Trails for Everyone campaign.