Alex Cabrero is an Emmy award-winning journalist and reporter for KSL since 2004. He covers various topics and events but particularly enjoys sharing stories that show what's good in the world.
SALT LAKE CITY — Ali Vallarta spent the past two years visiting every single park in Salt Lake County. All 511 of them. What started as a personal exploration project for the Salt Lake woman eventually turned into a searchable online parks map designed to help people find everything from playgrounds and splash pads to pickleball courts and dog parks.
Vallarta, host of the City Cast Salt Lake podcast, said the idea grew out of both curiosity and civic engagement. She said she began thinking more deeply about public resources and how people use them.
"I'm always thinking about like, 'What is good governance? ' 'How are tax dollars being used? ' like, 'What are the resources that are available to us that we're not making the most of? '" Vallarta said.
"I think parks is the perfect example of that because they're free. Because they're not free, right? We pay for them with our tax dollars. They belong to the people.
"From there, Vallarta set out to create what she described as a "census" of Salt Lake County parks. "There wasn't ever really kind of even a list of that, because all the cities manage their own parks differently," she said.
"I wanted to do this census of amenities so that I could really present to people like, 'Here all the things that you could be doing at your neighborhood park or here, or some outside of your neighborhood or your comfort zone that might be worth exploring. '"Over two years, Vallarta visited parks across the county, documenting amenities ranging from basketball courts and beach volleyball pits to splash pads, water fountains and bathrooms.
She also tracked who manages each park, hoping the map could help residents know what city was responsible for it.
"So that if you need to report that the trash needs to be taken out, or if you want to request a new amenity, you can make sure that you're barking up the right tree," Vallarta said. The final product is a searchable online map allowing users to filter parks by amenities.
"I've got a dog and a toddler, for example, and I want to plan an outing. Where can I go that has both an off leash dog park and a toddler friendly play area?
" she said. The project also uncovered several trends across Salt Lake County parks. According to Vallarta's findings, about 69% of parks in Salt Lake County do not have year-round public bathroom access.
"It is my top issue. There aren't enough," said Vallarta. "I'm a nerd, but I just think
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