SC seeks input for redesign project
Community meeting will be held Saturday
For the first time in decades, the city of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department has begun the process to redesign San Lorenzo Park and wants the public to share its thoughts about the project at a community meeting Saturday at the Hotel Paradox.
“The time is right to really look at the park and how we consider investing in it, and what the park should be and what the community's vision is for San Lorenzo Park for the next generation,” said Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Director Tony Elliot.
He said that the redesign project was spurred by the city of Santa Cruz Parks Master Plan 2030, which was completed in August 2020.
“San Lorenzo Park is a downtown park, perhaps our most downtown park in Santa Cruz, but it's also a community park, a place where we've historically hosted events and drawn in people from around the city and county,” said Elliot. “For the people who live and work nearby, it feels very much like a neighborhood park, so there's a lot of different layers of character. And for those reasons, worthy of an updated plan and vision, and for those reasons, we're doing this redesign effort and community outreach for San Lorenzo Park.”
To help with the community outreach and redesign process, the city has paired its efforts with Bionic
Landscape, a landscape architectural firm based in San Francisco.
“They've really been our key consultant in helping and guiding us through this process,” said Elliot. “In partnership with Bionic, Parks and Recreation has already engaged in a lot of community outreach with several stakeholder groups like the San Lorenzo Park Neighbors, the Coastal Watershed Council and numerous others.”
One of the biggest challenges in the redesign process, according to Elliot, is the future use of the Benchlands
area of the park.
“It's a unique area in that it sits in the flood plain along the river so there's some challenges with that, but it also presents a lot of opportunity,” said Elliot. “Should it be an area for public use, or an area that we should restore as native habitat, or is it an area that should be used for something totally different? That's where we're really seeking that feedback from the community.”
Whether the revamped park will host a permanent food truck area or a Dennis the Menace-themed playground,
pickleball courts, pump tracks or more and bigger sea serpent sculptures will be determined by the input the city receives from the community.
“I am hopeful that we get a lot of community input and engagement on this,” said Elliot. “San Lorenzo Park is really important as our downtown park, as our community park and as our neighborhood park, so I am really hopeful that people take the opportunity to come out this weekend and engage us to help inform the future of the park.”
For information about the community meeting, visit cityofsantacruz.com/ redesignsanlorenzopark.