Andy Wietecki, parks and facilities foreman for the city of White Bear Lake, crunched the numbers on park usage and conservation. Here’s a numerical look at what goes into the beautiful parks and facilities throughout the city of White Bear Lake.
(Note: The reservation and event information below is based on a typical year.)
12 miles of trails
That’s 12 miles of wetlands, lakes and woods open for recreational hikes.
311 park reservations
From spring to fall, the parks are available to be rented for any kind of event under the sun. “It’s graduation parties, running races, weddings, birthdays,” says Wietecki. “We have business that come in and do their annual company picnic at the park and grill.” Visit whitebearlake.org/parksrec for more information on what’s available, park protocols and number of people who can attend events, during STAY SAFE MN and STAY SAFE WBL.
48 miles of sidewalk throughout the city
“That is significant because in the winter we also snowblow all of the sidewalks after every three-inch snowfall (and more frequently downtown),” says Wietecki. Whew, and you thought your driveway was a pain!
168,300 gallons of water to craft the four ice rinks
“We track how much water we put down for the ice rinks when we’re flooding them,” says Wietecki, adding that each tanker truck holds 2,200 gallons. “This last year we used 168,300 gallons of water. That’s for four ice rinks, a hockey rink and three open skate rinks.”
Gardening by the numbers
- 285 acres of grass mowed per week
- 100 yards of mulch for the gardens and flowerbeds throughout the city
- 2,630 annuals planted in the gardens and flowerbeds throughout the city
- 61 hanging baskets downtown
