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The Next Great City of the 21st century has a 19th-century municipal park system.

In 1867, state law established the Fairmount Park Commission to deal with the maintenance and preservation of the 9,200-acre Fairmount Park. But the City also has a Recreation Department, which helps manage public recreation facilities.

Seem redundant?

Next Tuesday, voters will decide whether to amend the City Charter to merge the powers and responsibilities of both organizations into a new Parks and Recreation Commission. We urge students to support the change when they step into the voting booth.

It only makes sense that one department oversees park and recreation operations in Philadelphia. The current system leads to costly redundancy and confusion over who exactly is responsible for the city's recreation facilities.

The change will eliminate overlap between the two organizations and increase accountability. And because the mayor and City Council will be able to appoint members to the new commission, citizens will have a greater say in the direction of Philadelphia's parks system.

A variety of community organizations have also come out in support of the proposal. Even groups previously opposed to the change, like the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, now support it because of the Mayor's pledge to increase funding for city parks.

With a unified and efficient parks system, Philadelphia can cut through the red tape - and become a little greener because of it.

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