By Zach Friend, County Supervisor 2nd District
Major improvements to Seascape Park were completed recently and given the number of kids out at the park the last few weeks it’s clear they were welcomed
Our office co-hosted a neighborhood meeting with the Parks Department in the spring to hear suggestions of what our community envisioned for park improvements. One of the key takeaways from that meeting was the need for multi-generational options. Specifically, having improvements for kids of all ages at the park but also more options for parents and grandparents visiting the park and neighborhood walkers enjoying the trail and bluff area.
As a result, the Parks Department worked with our office on a phased plan to make significant improvements to the park. In the first phase, completed recently, the main playground area was completely redone with features that would interest kids of multiple ages. Previously, parents had said that there weren’t enough things to do for kids over 6 years-old and that their kids quickly aged-out of the park.
Our Parks Department developed a plan with climbing features that would interest kids in the 6-12 years-old range while still maintaining slides, swings and a new spring riding feature for a larger age range. All of this was done with a wooden and ocean design to better blend in to the surroundings.
Additionally, the grass area was replanted to afford a small area for parents and kids to throw or kick a ball, or as I saw this past weekend, fly a kite.
In order to meet the goal of multi-generational elements, improvements were made to a bluff side public art feature and new picnic benches were installed along the pathway with beautiful views of the ocean. Many of these features were directly requested at our neighborhood meeting.
However, the improvements to the park aren’t complete. The next steps are to tackle the second play area (with an old swing set) to provide a kid’s swing and refurbishing. Resurfaced or replaced benches are also planned for the area next to the playground as well as improvements to the fence and landscaping surrounding the perimeter of the park.
The improvements to Seascape Park are part of the largest investment to our district’s parks in over a generation. In a little over a year we’ve built the new Seacliff Village Park, installed new bike jumps and permanent restrooms at the Polo Grounds, made notable improvements to Aldridge Lane Park in Corralitos and now made these improvements to Seascape Park. We hope to continue working these improvements to our district’s parks in the coming years.
•••
As always, I’d appreciate your thoughts. Feel free to call me at 454-2200.