San Mateo's Central Park playground themes proposed

“I would say the majority of the people preferred the adventure village concept. I think they felt it fit better into the character of the park,” Parks and Recreation Director Sheila Canzian said.

The adventure village towers would stand alone and include a series of ramps and platforms. The towers would be away from trees and are not considered treehouses, Canzian stressed. An adventure village design surrounded by trees was touted as matching the natural park setting.

The playful history design concept is a Victorian playhouse structure recounting some of the earlier park’s history and includes a musical garden. The design is focused on presenting a playhouse experience. Although both design concepts are different, the city remains open to combining different aspects. The public expresses interest in a musical garden regardless of which design concept the city chooses.

“The themes are very different, but there are elements that could be combined,” Canzian said.

She noted the city had not picked a design, with the process still in the preliminary design stages. Changes are possible based on feasibility, cost and public input.

“We really want to stress that these are design concepts. They are not specific site improvements,” Canzian said.

The chosen design would replace the current structure. No cost estimate has been determined.

The city began initial input in October 2019 for a design, which included showing pictures and asking the public to highlight the most attractive elements. The city’s consultant for the project, RRM Design Group from San Leandro, then took the 2019 input and made the design concepts.

Canzian said potential construction was at least two years out but could not say how long it would take to finish. She did not have any information on a demolition date but noted the area would be closed while construction occurs. The new playground would be constructed on the existing plot and use the entire playground site. The current structure is 27 years old and has reached its usefulness from a maintenance perspective. The city also said it wanted to improve and modernize the outdated playground equipment to fit current safety guidelines.

The renovation of the playground was a priority goal identified in the San Mateo Central Park Master Plan, a 2018 update aimed at goals of preserving the 16-acre park’s history, better serving the diverse set of needs of those who use it and facilitating a downtown connection. Renovation of the playground and building the Fallen Heroes Memorial are the department’s two top priorities. Central Park is the city’s oldest park and features a recreation center for classes, a Japanese Garden, a children’s train, a picnic area for events and the San Mateo Arboretum.

The city held a July 3 public meeting to get comments and feedback on the two proposed designs for Central Park. Around 23 people attended, with 58 people expressing interest in the discussion. Additional input will be sought from the people who did not attend the meeting but expressed interest. San Mateo will post the design alternatives on its website and collect further public feedback until the end of June. Public feedback includes surveys and questions about the two options to get a sense of community desires. In addition, the city is considering an onsite meeting at the park for the public, although it does not have a date picked. Once public input finishes, RRM will finalize a design that will appear in front of the Parks and Recreation Commission.

San Mateo first held a playground design workshop in 2019. Canzian said the two-year gap was due to changing priorities during COVID-19 and for designers to present the two final design options.

People interested in the Central Park playground renovation can go to cityofsanmateo.org/4142/Central-Park-Playground-Renovation for more information.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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