South San Francisco’s Linden Avenue park is coming to life

“Unfortunately, when it comes to lead and some of the horror stories that have come from other parts of the country where children have been affected by the negligence of government, I understand why people are super sensitive to this,” Councilmember Mark Addiego said. “But we’ve had a number of professionals here, and I’m satisfied with the answers. … At this point, I want to focus on the wonderful aspects that this park brings to Linden Avenue and the neighborhood as a whole.”

There is also a chance the park could necessitate the partial closure of Pine Avenue, though, staff also confirmed emergency response times in the area would not be negatively impacted based on current design options.

“With the access, mainly from Cypress but also Airport Boulevard, right into Pine, we don’t see any measurable difference in the response time,” Fire Chief Matt Samson said, adding that evacuation routes have also been robustly evaluated.

Some longtime residents, such as Olga Perez, have previously voiced concern over the park, as well as the neighborhood bearing the brunt of new housing development over the years.

If the park does not move forward, the land could also be subject to the Surplus Land Act, which stipulates that the city must first attempt to sell the property for affordable housing development.

One resident, Hermes Monzon, said during public comment that he was looking forward to the park and his main concern was that it include a restroom so families and seniors could stay at the park longer.

“I’m very excited about this project. I hope it comes through,” he said.

Total costs are anticipated to be about $5.5 million with the majority coming from state grant funding and the rest from the city’s developer fees.