I just got back from a pleasant hike in Mill Creek Metropark, and it got me thinking about park policy. Ohio has a fairly extensive state park system, that includes 74 state parks. Ohio also has quite a few Metroparks like Mill Creek, where there are some great trails for short afternoon hikes now that northeast Ohio finally has tolerable weather.

Use of Ohio's state parks is "free" -- rather, it is "unpriced." Ohio taxpayers pay for the parks whether they use them or not. This was scheduled to change this year, as the Ohio state park system proposed instituting parking fees -- $5/day or $25/year -- to help cover park maintenance, upkeep, and the like. Yet as often happens when park user fees are proposed, many park users rise up in arms. "We already pay for parks with our taxes," they say. Indeed they do, but so do people who don't use the parks. Ohio has the third most visited state park system in the country, and yet much of the system is paid out of general funds. General funding of state parks amount to substantial cross subsidies of recreational activity. People like me get the benefit of having other Ohioans help pay for our preferences. Why is that fair?

Well, not all park users feel as I do. They raised a stink, and the state backed down. Apparently newly discovered "budget solutions" make the proposed park fees unnecessary. Thus, the cross subsidies will continue, and Ohio's park system won't benefit from the positive economic incentives that result from tying its funding to the benefits it provides users. It's a shame.