Entrance fee to garden needs to be an option

There are lots of wonderful things to do in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden: take a leisurely stroll through the Texas flora; watch the turtles sun themselves on the shore of their pond; enjoy the peace and solitude of 110 gloriously green acres almost any day of the year.

One of the best aspects of the Botanic Garden is no matter how you choose to spend your time there, it doesn’t cost you a thing.

Entrance to the park is free and has been for the 80 years the garden has been in operation.

Compare that to the Dallas Arboretum, where general admission fees run $10 to $15, not including parking, which can double the total cost.

Fort Worth’s absent price tag has made the garden a huge draw for visitors to the city and a popular spot for locals who enjoy regular rambles along its winding paths.

Never mind that there’s something truly refreshing about ensuring that parks are accessible to everyone, regardless of ability to pay.

But keeping the park free to visitors has come at a price — lost revenue — and that could put the park’s future in limbo.

A recent study conducted by outside consultants estimated that the park needs some $15 million to fix deferred maintenance projects and address other issues on the property.

Admission fees to special garden exhibits, facility rental fees and private donations make up about 40 percent of the gardens’ $4.4 million budget, but public resources have been primarily responsible for the park’s operation.

And as we know all too well, the city’s resources are limited.

The repair and upgrade wish list is long; some of its projects, like replacing aging equipment that can impact the health of plant collections, seem more necessary than others, like moving the garden entrance from University Drive to Montgomery Street, which would require the purchase of additional acreage — especially if funds are scarce.

The City Council will be briefed next month on the findings of a new strategic plan which provides a course of action for the 2010 Master Plan which is still awaiting implementation.

The council will also have an opportunity to consider whether or not admission fees should be part of that plan.

There are other ways to increase private investment in the garden, but it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which some sort of entry fee is not in the cards.

While that would be a shame, it would be a worse fate for the garden to decline or close.

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Entrance fee to garden needs to be an option."