Parks and Open Spaces Key Performance Indicators

Parks & Open Spaces Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Statistics

Number of Trees Pruned

This measure tracks the total number of trees pruned across the city, including work completed by both internal crews and contracted service providers. Tree pruning activities fall into two categories:

Scheduled Pruning

This is regular pruning as part of a planned maintenance cycle based on geographic areas.

Safety Pruning

This is pruning done when there is an immediate safety concern, regardless of location. This includes removing dangerous branches, improving visibility, or addressing risks to people, property or infrastructure. This is ad hoc work initiated through service requests.

The reduction in tree pruning activity in 2025 was primarily due to the delays in executing the pruning contract, which prevented contractors from completing a full season of work. Rising pruning costs in recent years have also outpaced the available budget, further limiting the amount of pruning that could be completed.

Number of Trees Removed and Planted

This measure tracks the total number of new trees planted and trees removed within the city, including work completed by both internal crews and contracted service providers. It does not include trees planted by developers as part of private construction or subdivision projects.

Dutch Elm Disease remains a significant concern for the City. Additionally, multi-year drought conditions continue to impact tree mortality resulting in a high number of tree removals each year.

New tree plantings have increased due to secured long-term funding that supports proactive planning and sustained reinvestment in the urban canopy. This funding enables the City to take a more strategic and consistent approach to tree replacement and growth.

Watering Cost and Volume per Tree

This measure tracks both the cost and the volume of water used to establish newly planted trees across the city. It captures all watering activities performed by internal crews during the tree establishment period. By monitoring these inputs, the measure supports effective resource planning, helps ensure the long-term health and survival of new trees and provides insight into operational efficiency within the urban forestry program.

Efficiencies continue to be gained through improved technology for water scheduling and route optimization. These operational improvements have resulted in savings that currently outpace the rising water costs. As optimization efforts reach their practical limits, future tree watering costs will increasingly align with changes in water rates rather than efficiency gains.

Number of Mosquito Counts Below Historical Averages

This measure tracks how often weekly mosquito trap counts are lower than their historical averages. Each week during the mosquito season, 20 trap counts are collected. The weekly average is then compared to long‑term historical data to assess mosquito population levels. The target is for at least 15 out of the 20 weekly counts to be below the historical average, which would indicate effective mosquito management and lower population pressure.

Mosquito counts have been declining over the past few years. This trend is partly the result of ongoing drought conditions in the city, which reduces the availability of standing water needed for mosquito breeding. In addition, operational efficiencies, particularly improved routing and more precise application techniques, have enhanced the effectiveness of mosquito control efforts. Together, these factors have contributed to consistently lower trap counts compared to previous years.

Hectares of City Owned Green Spaces

This measure tracks the total number of City-owned hectares of green space that are accessible to the public. Green space includes both maintained and naturalized areas.

The city continues to grow, increasing the amount of green space available to the public. Naturalized areas are also expanding as part of the effort to meet the Parks Master Plan goal of achieving 25 per cent naturalization by 2028.

City Golf Course Attendance

This measure tracks the total number of rounds of golf played at the four public City‑owned golf courses in Regina: JoAnne Goulet, Murray, Tor Hill and Lakeview Par 3. It reflects overall use of the City’s golf amenities throughout the season.

The City continues to offer highly competitive green fees, which has contributed to increasing attendance each year. In 2025, Tor Hill Golf Course recorded the second-highest attendance among all golf courses in Saskatchewan., Additionally, Lakeview Par 3 and Joanne Goulet golf courses broke their own attendance records for 2025, highlighting the games strong popularity and the value it provides to residents and visitors.

Number of Internments

This measure tracks the total number of interments performed at City-owned cemeteries. Interments include both traditional burials and cremations carried out at all municipal cemetery sites (Riverside Cemetery and Regina Cemetery).

Cremation continues to be a more popular interment option than traditional burial. This trend reflects changing preferences among residents and aligns with broader shifts across the cemetery and funeral services sector. As more people choose cremation, the demand for traditional burial plots decreases, which in turn extends the life expectancy of Riverside Cemetery by slowing the rate at which available land is used.

2476 Victoria Avenue
Regina, SK, S4P 3C8
306-777-7000