Lockeford’s first kids’ park to open
LOCKEFORD — A longawaited addition to the Lockeford Memorial Park has finally come to fruition and will be recognized this weekend.
The Friends of the Lockeford Memorial Park will host a dedication and celebration for the town’s first children’s playground at noon on Saturday.
Tim Loney, the nonprofit organization’s president, said the plan to bring amenities for children to the park has been in the works for at least 20 years.
“I’ve been involved with everything for three years, but this has been going on a long time,” he said. “I think a lot of people here thought it might not ever happen.”
The park will be located at 19258 Jack Tone Road, and the play structure is the first phase of the project.
Loney said future plans for the park include adding park benches, picnic tables, pavilions and restrooms.
Purchasing and installing the play structure cost about $100,000, Loney said, funded by as much as $30,000 in donations collected by the Friends of the Lockeford Memorial Park.
The remaining balance was provided by the Lockeford Water District, which Loney said has been involved with the park’s development for several years.
The play structure has been installed, but is not currently open due to minor safety impediments that should be corrected by Saturday, he said.
With the park’s official opening Saturday, Loney said families will no longer have to drive into Lodi to use the play structures at that city’s parks.
“The only park with a play structure that children used was the (Lockeford) elementary school around the corner,” he said. “It’s my understanding that it was open and accessible, but that was many years ago. Now it’s closed due to liabilities and safety reasons.”
On Saturday, there will be free ice cream for dedication attendees, water slides, face painting and balloons to celebrate the park’s opening.
Local officials will be joined by San Joaquin County Supervisor Chuck Winn, who represents District 4, to speak about the opening of the park as well, Loney said.
“My hope is that now we have this park, it will be an impetus to others to get involved and make more contributions to it,” Loney said. “I think once people see (the playground) is now a reality, they’ll want to do more to help improve it.”
The Friends of the Lockeford Memorial Park have scheduled a Sept. 5 community meeting to discuss the next phases of the park’s development. For more information, visit lockefordpark.weebly.com.