Trail and park advocates ask Council for dedicated funding to protect Philadelphia green spaces

Pauline Berkowitz, an environmental and park professional testifying for the Circuit Trail Coalition, thanked Council for prior support and asked for continued dedicated funding for trail development and maintenance. She requested at least $250,000 annually in the parks capital line (40.8) for trails and at least $500,000 annually in the streets department capital line (70.1) for multimodal trails and side paths.

Berkowitz said Philadelphia has one of the best park and trail systems in the country, with more than 100 miles of trails and over 10,000 acres of parkland, and warned that underfunding reduces safety, maintenance capacity and green‑jobs opportunities.

Tia Tynes of Clean Philadelphia Now urged increased investment in education, outreach and enforcement related to illegal dumping and asked for greater transparency in how the city reports metrics and outcomes for clean‑and‑green initiatives.

Why it matters: Advocates tied steady capital and operating funding to public‑space safety, recreation access and the administration’s stated goal of a cleaner, greener city.

What’s next: Council will consider capital and operating requests as part of the FY27 budget review.