Playground Most Popular Choice for York Boulevard Park

Highland Park residents went to work with scissors, tape, multi-colored construction paper and a spectrum of Sharpie markers on Monday evening, laying out their specific designs for a public park in the vacant lot at the intersection of York Boulevard and Ave. 50.

The design workshop was the second meeting held in four days, and a follow-up to where participants laid out general ideas for what they wanted to see inside the park.

On a sheet of paper representing the empty lot, community members cut out images of the park’s proposed items and placed them where they would like to see them built    After the plans were completed, each group discussed their ideas with a brief presentation of their ideas.

There were seven different plans that were created by workshop participants, several of which contained many of the same elements. 

The most universally popular suggestion was the placement of a playground in the southwest corner of the lot, away from traffic.

The implementation of fences and restrooms for the proposed park, though, received mixed reviews.

“Symbolically, it’s nicer to have an open space and easy access to go in and out,” Ian Chang said regarding his opposition to fences. “You don’t want to feel like you’re caged in there.”

Representatives from Councilman José Huizar's office said they were delighted by the turnout for the last two meetings, which indicated how much community members wanted to see a park built in the neighborhood.

“If you look at the diversity of the people here today, you have little kids, families and couples; it really showcases what [the councilman] and the community wants,” said Nate Hayward of Councilman Huizar's office.

Huizar’s office sponsored the meeting as part of the process to receive a grant to develop on the 12,000 square foot property.

“I think it’s a demonstration of how interested people are and how long they’ve been waiting,” Rasmussen-Cancian said regarding the turn out of community members. 

“And to me it means that whether or not we get this grant, the community is going to make this happen,” he said.

Said Tricia Robbins, a field deputy for Councilman Huizar's office: “There’s always been a lot of community support for a park in that area, even before there was the idea from [the councilman's] office that we could do it. We [Councilman Huizar’s office] don’t have an agenda; it’s the community’s park and the community’s input and what they’re doing is for what they want to see.”

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