{"id":238834,"date":"2016-12-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/transforming-balboa-park\/"},"modified":"2016-12-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-02T08:00:00","slug":"transforming-balboa-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/transforming-balboa-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming Balboa Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reawakening the pros and cons of the Plaza de Panama project<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Dave Schwab<\/p>\n

While the recent resurrection of the Balboa Park Plaza de Panama project has revived hopes of creating a more pedestrian-friendly public park space, it has also reawakening much of the same opposition that derailed the proposal initially.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 14, the City Council approved the $79 million, long-stalled Balboa Park Plaza de Panama project, which would remove traffic from the historic heart of Balboa Park, while creating 6.3 acres of parkland, gardens and pedestrian-friendly plazas.<\/p>\n

Proponents hope Plaza de Panama construction can begin next spring and be done in time to celebrate Balboa Park\u2019s 150th anniversary in 2018. The original goal had been to complete it by 2015, the 100th anniversary of the Panama-California Exposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of project scope, it has not changed,\u201d said Katherine Johnston, the city\u2019s director of infrastructure and budget policy. \u201cThe design is almost the same, with some minor updates to ensure compliance with all existing regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The original entrance to Balboa Park via Cabrillo Bridge (below) may soon be closed off and traffic rerouted onto a sweeping new cement exit to the right (artist\u2019s rendering above), which would eventually lead drivers to a paid parking garage behind Spreckels Organ Pavilion. (Images courtesy SOHO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bruce Coons, head of the preservationist organization, Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), which sued to block the project back in 2012, agreed the project hasn\u2019t changed much, despite the increase in costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the same as the previous project except for some storm water controls,\u201d Coons said. \u201cI also think they added mechanical ventilation to the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally championed by a committee led by Qualcomm founder and philanthropist Irwin Jacobs, the Plaza de Panama project was proposed to solve Balboa Park\u2019s chronic traffic and parking woes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The project\u2019s centerpiece was a bypass off the Cabrillo Bridge with motorists turning right onto the Centennial Bridge leading to a road through the Alcazar Garden parking lot culminating below new walkways to an 800-space, paid-parking, park-topped garage south of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.<\/p>\n

\"historicimagesm\"<\/a>Those changes would make it possible to end traffic and parking in the Plaza de Panama in front of the San Diego Museum of Art, the Plaza de California in front of the San Diego Museum of Man, the west Prado, and the Esplanade that leads to the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe successfully fought and won [against the development] in 2013 and then\u00a0the Plaza de Panama Committee \u2014 not the city \u2014 filed an appeal,\u201d said Alana Coons, also of SOHO.\u00a0\u201cSOHO cross-appealed, but sadly, [the committee] prevailed in appeals court.\u00a0Then in Jan. 8, 2016, Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor decided against awarding $96,000 in legal fees to the Plaza de Panama Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said that Dr. Jacobs is currently appealing that ruling.<\/p>\n

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer hailed the renewed Plaza de Panama project as \u201ca once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform San Diego\u2019s crown jewel for the next century.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis public-private partnership will reclaim the heart of Balboa Park for pedestrians and return the Plaza de Panama to its original grandeur,\u201d Faulconer said. \u201cWith the support from the City Council and great civic leaders like Dr. Irwin Jacobs, the grand restoration of Balboa Park can finally begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

But not everyone, including SOHO, are happy that the Plaza de Panama project is back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf ever the commercial development of the park goes forward complete with freeway off-ramp; a giant ditch with 42-inch-tall safety railings and massive, concrete retaining walls; dangerously narrow, sunken S-curve roadway; and paid-parking structure \u2014 the cherished entry [across the Cabrillo Bridge] will not only be forever lost, it will become a garish, concrete-and-asphalt nightmare that permanently scars Alcazar Garden, Palm Canyon, Spreckels Organ Pavilion, and the historic core,\u201d Bruce Coons said.<\/p>\n

Coons estimated more than $300 million is needed just for crucial park repairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet, instead of addressing the park\u2019s urgent needs, a plan to spend more on building unnecessary and destructive new roads and buildings that require additional maintenance and expense is the city\u2019s focus,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is irresponsible fiscal policy and does not make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plaza de Panama Project plans also include:<\/p>\n