Two eagerly-awaited playground redevelopment projects are officially kicking off this week. At 6pm Thursday, June 23rd, at the Tenderloin Recreation Center (570 Ellis St.), Rec & Parks and the Trust for Public Land will host the first in a series of community meetings to discuss redesign plans for Sgt. John Macaulay Park and Turk-Hyde Mini Park.
As we previously reported, the renovation of Macaulay Park (on Larkin at O'Farrell) is being prioritized under the Let’sPlaySF initiative—formerly titled the Failing Playgrounds Program. Throughout the multi-year collaboration with the San Francisco Parks Alliance, a task force identified 13 dilapidated public playgrounds in need of renovations and chose six to prioritize this year using $15.5 million from the 2012 San Francisco Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond.
The upcoming renovation of Turk-Hyde Mini Park is also being funded with $1 million from the 2012 San Francisco Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond.
During tomorrow evening's planning meeting, community members can expect to learn more about these playgrounds and the "Tenderloin Park System" as a whole; the expected budget, scope, timeline and next steps for each of the renovations projects; and share feedback on their priorities for these playgrounds.
Anyone who can't attend the event is encouraged to contact Reem Assaf, the manager for both improvement projects, at (650) 449-7139 (location code 002) or [email protected] to share the type of improvements they'd like to see at Macaulay Park and Turk-Hyde Mini Park.
La Voz Latina is also encouraging families who can't make the meeting this week to attend their next monthly party in Macaulay Park, which is scheduled for 4-6pm Wednesday, June 29th. In addition to providing music, food and games for children, the organization is hosting a debrief to recap the requests community members relayed to Rec and Parks on these redesign projects. Adults must be accompanied by a child and are asked to RSVP with Sergio Tut at [email protected].