El Centro gets state funds for Buena Vista Park
EL CENTRO – For about 12 years, residents in the Buena Vista subdivision have been patiently waiting to see a promise fulfilled — a local park.
Moreover, during the COVID pandemic residents had nowhere to spend time outdoors away from others to avoid contagion, while Bucklin Park is far away from the area and the walk north becomes a risk as drivers can easily go over the 50 mph speed limit by south Eighth Street. At the same time, making the walk northbound in the summer feels a lot longer, let alone the way back home.
That issue is expected to be solved in the next few months after the City of El Centro received a symbolic $1.1 million check from outgoing District 36 Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia on Friday, March 8, to make a park in the retention basin a reality. The funds will get matched with $1.6 million in Measure P funds for a total of $2.6 million, according to city and state officials.
The Buena Vista subdivision is located on the corner of Manuel Ortiz Avenue and south Eighth Street in El Centro.
“Kids around here, they needed a park to go to,” El Centro resident Marco Balderano said, who lives in the Buena Vista area. “Everybody will go off to the fields.”
A quarter of the 8-acre retention basin will see a new basketball court with energy-efficient LED lighting a children’s playground with protective surfacing, a large green space with turf, as well as a jogging path around with about a hundred trees some time in the future.
El Centro Community Services Director Adriana Nava said residents’ concerns about children’s safety for Imperial County Jail releases led the authorities to build the park on the westernmost side of the retention basin.