Twin Cities parks are tops in the nation

Twin Cities parks have been rated best in the nation again by the Trust for Public Land — thanks in part to lots of restrooms.

The Trust for Public Land rates public park spaces for 100 of the largest cities in the U.S., and once again, Minneapolis tops the list, with a rating of 84.2 points out of 100. St. Paul is close behind, as it was last year. The state's capital city received an 82.4 rating.

The scores are based on how many residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, total acres of parkland, park budgets and amenities like playgrounds, restrooms and dog parks.

Minneapolis' rank was helped by the city's easy access to parks. Researchers found 97 percent of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. An announcement by the Trust for Public Land says the two cities also gained points because restrooms were added to the park ratings this year: St. Paul leads the nation with 10.5 park restrooms per 10,000 residents, compared to 6.8 in Minneapolis. The national average is 2.4 per 10,000 residents.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul chief resilience officer Russ Stark will officially celebrate their cities' top rankings at a press conference at Martin Luther King Park in Minneapolis Wednesday.

Ratings for both Minneapolis and St. Paul are down slightly from last year, but St. Paul inched closer to its larger twin in 2018. The two tied for top rankings in 2015.

The Trust for Public Land is a San Francisco-based nonprofit founded in 1972 to create and protect public spaces in the U.S. The organization has been rating park systems since 2012.