GREENSBORO — The Trust for Public Land just listed Greensboro among the top 50 cities in the country on its park score index.
Thursday's rain didn't stop Randy Bergman and his sister, Leslie, from taking a walk at Bicentennial Park.
"I don't understand why someone wouldn't want to take advantage of a place that looks like this,” Randy Bergman said.
"We think it's lovely over here, and the park is such a nice size to wander around," Leslie Bergman said.
The Trust for Public Land thinks so, too.
The non-profit ranks Greensboro 44th out of 75 cities in the country for best parks.
"We have 6,000 acres of park land, 2,500 water acres that we manage, and we have well over 100 neighborhood parks,” said interim parks and recreation director Wade Walcutt. “We also have over 90 miles of trails in Greensboro."
The non-profit bases its scores on a measure of each city's parks' size, access, facilities and investment.
The City of Greensboro invests about $18 million a year in its parks—one city leaders say is a worthy investment.
"They build a better community,” Walcutt said. “The impacts that we create for the community are far and wide. We help improve quality of life, we enhance health and wellness and we conserve natural resources.”
They're a sustainable economic engine, too.
"These parks actually help raise the property value for a lot of homes and businesses,” Walcutt said.
Raleigh and Charlotte also made the list, coming in at 24 and 74 respectively.