Castro Courier

Locals enjoy a break of sun in the Dolores Park playground between rainstorms. The sand pit area is scheduled to be replaced by an artificial surface between October this year and April of next year. (photo: Bill Sywak)

As dark skies still hover about Dolores Park, a recent announcement of major renovations and long-term closures to the landmark has churned up similarly cloudy public speculation.

With numerous rumors circulating about the details, San Francisco Recreation of Parks Dept. officials and Supervisor Bevan Dufty organized an informational public meeting March 3 at Dolores Park Church to explain the project details and answer questions. Stakeholders in attendance included Friends of Dolores Park, the newly formed Dolores Park Works, Dolores Park Dogs, bike polo players, event planners, musicians, neighbors and homeowners. Some became vocal in expressing a litany of concerns ranging from crime reduction and the abnormally long closure to its affect on property values. More than anything, most locals agreed that they would like to see parts of the park remain open throughout construction and avoid a complete closure.

“There’s no park in the city that inspires like Dolores Park,” Dufty said of the hub, which has not received major upgrades in over a decade.

Dawn Kamalanathan, planning director for Recreation and Parks, led most of the meeting. She said the main objectives are repairing the tennis courts, field, clubhouse, roads/pathways, irrigation, lighting, wheelchair accessibility, as well as landscape improvements. A total of $14.95 million, $13.2 from the bond, will have been spent on the park by the time it is finished in more than two years.

“The life is being loved out of Dolores Park in a way,” Kamalanathan said. “This is a huge opportunity not only for the department but also the public.”

The construction will occur in stages, with the first one focusing on the playground section, which will be closed from October 2010 until April 2011 with an anticipated re-opening prior to the beginning of construction on the rest of the park. Planning and design for the rest of Mission Dolores will likely begin in late April or early May, with an anticipated construction start date of January 2012. It is undetermined what parts of the park will be closed during the renovations, exactly when they will be, and what the improvements will look like exactly. The community feedback and input process will be instrumental in drawing out the specifics.

Unlike the rest of the park, the playground designs have already been finalized. This area will receive a total of $3.25 million for its overhaul, $1.5 million from the bond, $1.5 million as a philanthropic gift and $250,000 from Recreation and Park’s general fund.

According to Steven Koch, landscape architect for the project with Koch Landscape Architecture in Portland, OR, the new playground will look completely different. The sand will be replaced by a “play surfacing” around the swings, but will also include one real sand pit. There will be a wall for seating, saddled swings for toddlers, and two slides — one for toddlers and one “super.” The architect asserted that all aspects of the design conform to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards.

In order to alert the public of closures and community feedback meetings, Recreation and Parks has allotted a maximum of $400,000 to public relations firm Davis and Associates to outreach and to help produce materials, translations and distributions to residents.

For more information about the planned projects in the park, visit the Recreation and Park website at parks.sfgov.org.