Salinas children have a new playground to climb, swing and slide down on at Northgate Park, the latest in a series of park upgrades the city has completed this year.
Decorated with a jungle design, the universal playground is for children of all abilities, city officials said.
An official ribbon cutting and city-sponsored picnic was held on July 12, drawing many families from the neighborhood.
Jose Garcia, who came to the park with his two toddler-aged children said the new playground seemed a lot better for little kids than the previous one and liked the merry-go-round and padded flooring.
“There is a lot more fun stuff for kids to do,” Garcia said.
A comprehensive review of the city’s 35 playgrounds in 2017 identified the then-existing structure at Northgate Park to be in need of replacement.
The playground’s new design was selected by the public via an online survey and series of community pop-ups.
Park funding part of American Rescue Plan Act
Kirsten Lundquist, director of Libraries and Community Services, said American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as well as some monies from the city’s general fund, enabled the city to improve facilities at parks throughout Salinas.
“With these funds we replaced all of the playground surfacing material in all our parks, we did repairs to all of the playgrounds and were able to install four brand new playgrounds,” Lundquist said.
In May, a universal playground costing $290,225.89 was installed at Williams Ranch Neighborhood Park.
The Northgate Park playground cost $974,090.54, according to a staff report presented to city council in April.
In 2021, the city council allocated ARPA funds for a number of government service projects, including $2 million for playground structures, park benches and barbecue grills.
The majority of the park funds were to be spent in the 93905 and 93906 zip codes, which were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There was a lot of intentional investment in parks, realizing it’s also a form of prevention,” District 5 City Council Member Andrew Sandoval said. “Children as well as seniors need safe places to be.”
New recreation center on the horizon
“Salinas is a young town—it’s a family-oriented community that appreciates open spaces,” said Library and Community Services Commissioner Victor Tafoya. “We hear you and that is why we’re investing and prioritizing our parks and our open spaces and our recreational activities.”
In addition to the new playground, the city is currently undertaking a feasibility study for a new recreation center at Northgate Park.
The city has allocated $8.1 million to build the recreation center, Lundquist said.
Part of the feasibility study is a survey where the city is asking the community to identify what other programs and amenities residents would like to have at Northgate Park.
The park currently does not have any bathrooms, Lundquist said, so that is something the city could explore, or facilities for Little League and other youth sports teams.
At Saturday’s ribbon-cutting, a neighbor mentioned the need for a dog park.
Lundquist said there was money allocated for a dog park three or four years ago, and that would be included in the feasibility study to determine if that is what residents in the area are looking for.
“You could see a dog park; the recreation center would be here,” Lundquist said. “You may see a backstop for baseball—there are lots of organized sports teams that practice here so you could see a lot of different amenities at the park.”
The city is currently in their first round of outreach for the feasibility study, she said, and will report back to the community on its findings.
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This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Playground at Northgate Park in Salinas gets dramatic overhaul: ‘More fun stuff for kids to do’
Reporting by Roseann Cattani, Salinas Californian / Salinas Californian
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
