San Rafael commission supports new playground plan
San Rafael plans to overhaul the playground at Peacock Gap Park.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission studied plans to redesign the park at it meeting on Aug. 8. Commissioners said they support the design, which includes new play structures, slides and paths.
The play structures at the 4.1-acre park are around 30 years old and are showing signs of wear and tear from heavy use. The new design would remove all equipment in both areas for tots and grade-school children.
The project is part of San Rafael’s 2023 Parks and Recreation Master Plan and is considered a high-priority project, according to Craig Veramay, the assistant library and recreation director.
The plan also calls for resurfacing paths near the south parking area and the entrance to the park to improve accessibility, and adding a disability-compliant parking spot. The path through the center of the park would be replaced to improve the experience for pedestrians. Paths between the play areas and restrooms also would be replaced and rerouted.
“The current pathway is a little too steep,” said John Martin, a project manager with RHAA Landscape Architecture and Design, a city consultant. “We want to make sure that we can get a wheelchair up that at an appropriate slope.”
The project would add more benches around the playground, a water fountain accessible for disabled users, a dog bowl by the tennis courts and a new bike rack. The sand ground will be replaced with mulch-like wood chips.
Martin said residents were presented with four alternative playground designs. Based on the community outreach in June, most participants preferred the fourth design and a natural color palette. Martin said the effort received more than 190 responses.
“Across the board, you see a very strong preference for swings and spinners,” Martin said. “I mean, those were the elements we knew were going to be really essential to the playground.”
“I love the community choice and the four choices,” said Robert Sandoval, a member of the commission. “I thought all of them looked good.”
Many community members also requested that the fence and gate around the tot area be replaced. Additionally, Martin said, there was a strong preference to keep two trees nearby, but he suggested removing one tree that is in poor health and leaning over the equipment.
The project will use $880,000 in Measure A funding for the design and construction and is included in the 2024-25 fiscal year budget. City staff hope to begin construction in early 2025 and complete the project by spring, according to a staff report.