By Ashley Mackin | SDUN Editor

The Friends of Balboa Park recently completed Phase I of the Sixth Avenue Playground Enhancement Project with a ribbon cutting ceremony for new play equipment on March 28. The organization dedicated and opened the play area, which is located in Balboa Park between Thorn and Spruce Streets along Sixth Avenue.

As a part of the Enhancement Project, the existing play equipment was replaced with newer structures that are coated in plastic to prevent them from overheating in the summer. Other improvements include angled shaped play structures to make them more accessible to people with physical disabilities and new swings, as well as rubberized padding installed on the ground to make a potential fall less harmful.

The new additions quadruple the amount of play space available at the park, and organizers of the project said a new slide will be installed shortly. Friends of Balboa Park are waiting until summer to evaluate whether they will plant trees for shade.

Jim Hughes, chair of Friends of Balboa Park and project manager for the Enhancement Project, said, “What we’re trying to do is breathe life back into the playground by enhancing it, which we’ve clearly done.”

District Three Councilmember Todd Gloria attended the ribbon cutting and said “While Balboa Park is acclaimed as a regional park, many of the neighborhoods in my district rely on Balboa Park to meet their neighborhood park needs as well. It is clear that the new equipment is a hit with both the region and the neighborhood.”

Phase II of the Enhancement Project will make the area more accessible to people with disabilities, becoming compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Part of these improvements include making the surrounding sidewalks wheelchair accessible and renovating the existing bathroom and water fountain for ADA compliance.

Of the planned improvements, Hughes said there will be a walkway that goes around the play area leading to seating so those with mobility disabilities would not have to cross soft surfaces to reach the seating area.

The original equipment was installed in the 1950s and 1960s when there were few regulations that would conform to today’s ADA standards. The biggest violator, and the first thing on the Phase II list, is the nearby restroom facility.

“[We will] replace the bathroom that’s there with something that’s modern, efficient, attractive and, most important, ADA compliant,” he said.
Hughes said the improvements are not directly related to the 2015 Balboa Park Centennial Celebration, but they are part of enhancement projects across Balboa Park in preparation of the event.

“I see this as a down payment, one of hundreds, toward… [the] 2015 celebration,” Hughes said, adding the new play structure is just one improvement Friends of Balboa Park has focused on. “[We] have something, it seems like, every single month where we’re doing something that’s an improvement to make the park better, more usable, more people friendly [and] prettier,” he said.

Phase I of the Enhancement Project was privately funded and managed independent of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Friends of Balboa Park were granted right on entry by the City, which entitled the organization to work on public land to complete the project.

From there, Hughes said, Friends of Balboa Park hired a contractor, playground designer and material suppliers. When Phase II of project is complete, the Friends of Balboa Park will donate the play area to the City.