Wisconsin’s public parks, including state and local park systems, received a D grade for their infrastructure in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2024 state infrastructure report card. The low grade was largely attributed to a lack of funding and aging facilities in need of significant repairs.
Wisconsin’s statewide infrastructure earned a C-plus in the report card. The group assessed 17 types of infrastructure throughout Wisconsin, examining their capacity and conditions, how they’re funded, operated and maintained, their impact on public safety, and the degree to which they’re resilient and innovative. An A grade is defined as “exceptional;” an F grade is “failing.”
The report card highlights Milwaukee County parks in particular, citing a 2018 Wisconsin Policy Forum report that found that 85% of parking lots, 75% of paved walkways and 54% of Oak Leaf Trail segments had pressing infrastructure needs in the next decade.
It also notes Wisconsin’s funding model for state parks, which are paid for almost entirely by user fees, licenses and concessions. According to a 2023 report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Wisconsin’s spending on state parks was the lowest in the country in 2017.
To give parks a boost, the report card recommends that the state return to funding state parks with general fund revenue — a funding source that was eliminated in the 2015-17 biennial budget — increase park user fees and hunting and fishing license fees, and provide tax credits for conservation donations.
For Milwaukee County parks, the report card suggests creating more partnerships with nonprofit groups and corporate sponsors, as well as with municipalities, to help shoulder their operation and maintenance burdens.
State report cards are released by the group every four years, meaning the latest one accounts for both pandemic impacts and an injection of federal dollars for infrastructure needs. In 2020, the state earned a C.
Ken Mika, co-chair of the committee that authored the report, said Wisconsin is one of just three states to receive a C-plus rating, the highest in the nation. That doesn’t necessarily mean Wisconsin’s infrastructure is at the top of the pack though, he said, because different states assess different numbers of infrastructure types.
More: Devil’s Lake is the ‘jewel’ of Wisconsin parks. But it’s wearing down and hard to protect.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin public parks earn D grade in infrastructure report card