Guest opinion
Public parks are a key component of healthy communities
By Cameron Smyth Special to The Acorn

From the mid-19th century to the early 20th, as cities in America began to grow in earnest, residents of large metropolises found that the number of places for outdoor recreation was dwindling.

City planners began looking at ways to ease the burden of life in the city, and the idea of creating public parks was born.

This notion seems elementary to us now, but at the time the designation of open space amid the industrializing urban centers of America was innovative. This forward-thinking approach led to the creation of New York City's Central Park, one of America's most famous public parks.

The investment in parks has certainly paid off in my home town, Santa Clarita, which along with Simi Valley is consistently ranked among the best places to live in California. Both communities have also been named among the nation's safest cities with a population of 100,000 or more.

And despite constantly increasing populations, both cities routinely show decreases in their crime rates. I'm convinced that the commitment to providing adequate park facilities is one of the critical factors in helping both communities adjust to growth without the increase in crime one might expect.

Thanks to Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District and the city of Simi Valley, creating open space and park land have been at the core of planning in Simi Valley. During the time since city incorporation in 1969 and the park district's founding in 1961, the community has invested heavily in recreational infrastructure, resulting in an everimproving bike network, the recent opening of Big Sky Park and expansion of many acres of active and passive parklands.

With the recent passage of propositions 84 and 1C, California has a rare opportunity to improve upon our local recreational infrastructure. As your Assemblyman, I am taking action to ensure that Simi Valley does not get neglected.

First, I've introduced Assembly Bill 534, which will increase funding to the Bicycle Transportation Account in order to assist local governments in their efforts to include planning for bike lanes and other bicycle facilities. By establishing safer bike routes and linking existing bike paths to create better bike mobility, more people will be able to ride to work, relieving traffic congestion and reducing air pollution.

I have also introduced AB 1536 in order to assure that taxpayers get the maximum benefit from the bonds they approved in November. Among the many housing programs contained in Proposition 1C, $400 million was set aside for park programs.

Oddly, 1C did not designate which state department would administer these funds: AB 1536 does just that. While some believe that the Department of Housing should control these funds, I believe that the Department of Parks and Recreation's proven history of delivering park bonds makes them the best agency to administer these programs.

Lastly, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked me to carry AB 1303, which will establish objectives and guidelines for implementation of the Urban Greening funds approved in Proposition 84. Carrying this measure for the governor will allow me to help develop fair criteria that will ensure that Simi Valley and the county of Ventura can compete for these funds.

I've dedicated my efforts to these pieces of legislation because I believe that recreation is vital to sustaining healthy cities and healthy families. Parks get people outside and active, improving their lives. This is critical to ensuring that Simi Valley continues to be the wonderful, attractive community that it is.

Assemblymember Cameron Smyth (RSanta Clarita) represents the 38th Assembly District, which includes Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Simi Valley and Glendale.