Renovation

Congratulations are in order for everyone who has participated on any level in the process to build a world class playground at Dolores Park! The contracts with the private Landscape Architect (KLA), the Construction Manager (Mack5) and SF Recreation and Parks have been signed. Friends of Dolores Park Playground really has partnered with some amazing people to organize a passionate and creative team.

The community and the City have approved the conceptual designs (download below). These designs will be used to develop the final plans and construction documents. When the documents are complete the project will go out to public bid, we are estimating this will happen by Spring 2010.

This project is a wonderful merger between public and private funding, which also brings with it some time constraints. The 1.5 million of city funding, which is dependent on the sale of bonds from the 2008 Park bond measure, does not become available until mid winter. The construction start date has been pushed back to summer of 2010, to match the time line of the bond sales.

Currently we are using our time to fund raise for Specialty Items and unique art work, continually expanding our creative vision for the most amazing world class Playground. Construction should be complete by Spring 2011!

Click here to download a complete report of the meeting, with drawings and comments (3.4mb)

Below are a few of the plans that were shown and discussed. Click on any image to see a larger version.

Plan View

Elevations

Rendering from the South-West

Rendering from the North-East

This final design attempts to integrate a world class playground into all that is Dolores Park. From clusters of old palm trees to wonderful hill sides to beautiful vistas reaching towards downtown and the mountains beyond; this is Dolores Park and the Mission District.

A quality play environment provides many opportunities for children and adults of all ages, but most importantly, it is the opportunity for free play that is imperative. In addition to the division of ages, the design attempts to integrate the design into the existing site as much as possible.

SF Rec and Park Approves $1.5 million!

On April 2, 2009 SF Rec and Park Commission approved $1.5m in bond funds to match our $1.5m grant from the Mercer Fund. The SF Chronicle hailed our project as a new and successful model between a local neighborhood group and City Hall.

Read the article at SFGate:
S.F. playground rebuild a citywide model

 

About our efforts

Friends of Dolores Park Playground is continuing to work with Supervisor Bevan Dufty and the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department. The goal is to create a world-class playground that is beautiful, clean, and safe for children of all abilities.

Hear about our efforts in a televised interview with our chair of the Steering Committee, Nancy Madynski on the Neighborhood Empowerment Network.
Watch the video >

There are several important reasons to renovate the playground.

1. The current play structures are more than thirty years old and do not comply with current safety standards. One example is arsenic in the paint.
   Learn more about this >
2. The surface of the playground is sand which often hides dangerous materials (broken glass, cigarette butts, syringes). Most of the newer playgrounds have a rubberized surface which does not hide foreign objects.
3. There is currently no physical barrier surrounding the play area, and most research shows that a barrier is a key safety component for playgrounds.
4. The drainage system in the play area is poorly-designed and often leaves the playground flooded and unusable.

Short-term Goals

1. Installation of signs that define the perimeter of the current playground and specify codes and regulations.
   (Installed on May 10, 2007- Thank You SF Rec & Park)
2. Installation of a "kiosk" with a covered bulletin board to post events and notices.
   (Installed on February 12, 2008 - Thank you Neighborhood Parks Council)
3. Daily sifting of the sand and playground clean up.
   (Started in April 07 and is on going- Thank you SF Rec & Park)
4. Increased vigilance of the playground to minimize night-time use by adults.
   

Friends of Dolores Park Playground 2008-2010