Park Facilities Improvement Plan

Upgrade Sports Fields and Improve Field MaintenanceOur sports elds are in terrible condition and need urgent attention. Poor drainage, unevensurfaces, and worn-out grass make it unsafe for kids to play and for volunteers to volunteer. We need resurfaced elds, betterirrigation, and improved lighting. The city should work with local sports leagues and families to ensure the upgrades meet the needs of the community. We also need a plan that ensures our fields are properly maintained, keeping them safe and enjoyable for kids now and in the future.Let’s ensure the Park Improvement Plan includes a clear commitment to these field improvements and ongoing maintenance, informed by input from local families and sportsleagues.

The planned improvements for Griffith Park's playground are minimal and do not adequately address the needs of the public. Since its installation in 2001, the playground has seen little to no upgrades beyond the replacement of slides and the addition of newer restrooms. Having lived on Woodbend since 2005, I have noticed that the playground has become less toddler-friendly and does not meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements. It's particularly shocking that there is a lack of accessibility at Griffith Park, especially since Sumner/Danbury School, which caters to students with accessibility needs, is less than 100 feet away. Besides the lack of accessibility, the non-existent toddler (0-3) equipment makes the park only accessible to children and adults with fully developed motor skills and a safety concern for children under 5. Again this park is located next to a state-run daycare, a school for children with accessibility needs, and a TK to 6th-grade elementary school. Why has the remodel of Griffith Park been pushed back to 2030? Does the slide installation, which has been closed multiple times due to safety concerns, qualify as a remodel for such a high-traffic park that hosts various events every weekend? Please put local children at the top of your priority since our federal government has not.

This assessment is deeply flawed, in that it does not treat soccer fields as long-term amenities that require significant funding and resources. Just as basketball courts and tennis courts sometimes need resurfacing, so too do soccer fields. The grass at Padua and La Puerta, in particular, has been neglected and simply aged to the point that routine maintenance is not enough, and a more extensive investment is required.
I am a Claremont resident, volunteer youth soccer referee, and parent of a soccer player, among other things. Our Claremont fields have become a serious risk to the health of both the children and the adults involved. I regularly find myself apologizing to visitors from other cities about the quality of our fields. We should be doing better.
I am all in favor of new playground equipment, etc. But I find it absurd, for example, that we would spend $600,000 on new playground equipment at Padua, without any attention at all to the existing, highly used amenity of the soccer fields, which are in desperate need of refurbishing.

The field conditions at La Puerta and Padua park (e.g. gopher holes, spiky liquidambar seed pods, among other hazards) are dangerous for athletes and spectators.

Field lights should also be installed at June Vail park.

I think the policy should include a provision to donate equipment that can be re-used. Although there is some normal wear and tear on 30-year old playground equipment, most of the equipment in Claremont is in great condition and can be re-used. The equipment should not go to the land fill or to scrap metal recycling if it can be re-used. It should be preferrable that Claremont donates used playground equipment for re-use in other locations. There can be provisions in the RFP/contract that require that playground vendors facilitate the disassembly and shipment for donations.

Please consider prioritizing the dirt parking area for Padua Park. These fields, like La Puerta are used by Claremont residents, but also represent Claremont when residents of surrounding areas participate in sporting events at our parks. The dirt parking lot is becoming severely rutted and is getting difficult to navigate following various rain storms. This parking is needed for youth sports and needs to be maintained (preferably with pavement) to support different vehicles and for individuals with limited mobility. Additionally, the gopher population and resulting holes at Padua and La Puerta are significant hazards and may result in serious injury to athletes and park visitors using these parks. Please resolve this and repair the fields.

I noted that the replacement timeline for the playground at Jaeger park was well into the future, which would mean that the equipment would be 30 years old before it is replaced. It is already very dated and this timeline seems highly unrealistic if we want kids actually playing on the equipment.

I'd like to underscore the need for lighting at Padua park and also advocate for bathroom updates in Memorial Park - my kids won't use the bathroom there because it is "scary," and I can't really disagree.

The other huge issue that doesn't seem to be addressed here is aging equipment - goals, nets - at Padua, as well as extremely poor field maintenance on the soccer fields which poses real threats to physical safety. I've lost count of how many times my kid has rolled an ankle or fallen on a rock during AYSO games.
I'm glad to see this work happening and think that additional budget would help address many of these concerns and allow for more priority projects to happen in a more timely manner.

The softball facilities are in need of lights for night games! Many of our girls walk, ride to La Puerta (the main softball facility) but we have no lights so practice times are limited to daylight hours. There are already light poles for soccer, but none of them face the softball fields.

Higginbotham Park is in serious need of better safety-approved climbing equipment. The rocks are dangerous for most little children and their grandmothers. It’s difficult to see my grandson trying to climb up, and with me not able to help or protect him. The coil horses are pathetic, old and unsafe. The swings are high enough to not be accessible to grandmothers trying to reach up and put a toddler in the seat. (I would imagine the city is trying to prevent teens from using the swings, but really?). This playground needs some major and more colorful, child/toddler friendly climbing structures. The heavy duty metal train is no substitute for this, either. Make Higginbotham safer and more attractive please.