Although this projects aims to improve the community
it is located in, there are complaints from other citizens in Long Beach who do
not live near the park.
Joyce Bautista is a kinesiology student at Cal State
Long Beach who does not live near Chittick Field; however, she does live near
another park that she wants to see renovated.
“Hudson Park near Cabrillo High School and Hudson
School is falling apart,” she said. “There
is graffiti all over the bathrooms and playground equipment. How are kids supposed to have fun when there
are dangerous things like broken glass lying around? I’m just scared that gang members might
congregate in this area. There is no
safety at all.”
Renovations to the park began on Sept. 29, but will
halt on Oct. 15 because the field is an active stormwater management
facility. Construction will halt during
what is called the rainy season from Oct. 15 through Apr. 15. This has some community members worried.
“If they stop construction, then the area would look
even uglier,” unemployed teacher Sivmui Chia said. “I’m also worried of all the mud and clogs
that [the construction] might allow. If they
plow through the dirt, aren’t [construction workers] worried that some of that
dirt might flow down the sewage pipe?”
Others are worried that the construction will delay
traffic in an already congested area.
Delon Salvador is a criminal justice major at
CSULB. He said the he travels down PCH
to get to school and is worried that if cranes and other construction vehicles
will go down the street, then traffic will slow down and he would have to find
another route to get to school.
But those who live near Chittick Field see the
renovations as way improve community’s relationships with each other.
“Within a one
mile radius of the park there is a total population of 75,000 of my neighbors,”
Councilmember Dee Andrews said. “With 37 percent of the population under 18 years
old and 30 percent under the poverty line, it warms my heart to know that this
will be a home for all to enjoy for free, including soccer fields, a football
field that can be used for all, including the school district, and increase the
ability of our youth to participate in athletics."
Thommy Lim lives in the area and wants the field to be
renovated so he could use its facilities.
“I’ve played volleyball ever since I was young,” he
said. “I just hope this renovation can
include a volleyball court so I wouldn’t have to travel far to play. Plus, if they include a track and gym of the sorts,
then I could just walk to Chittick [Field] and do my workouts there. No need for a gym membership.”
Chittick Field
Park is located near Walnut Ave. and Pacific Coast Highway and will begin phase
one of renovations starting Sept. 29 through Oct. 15. The $4.3 million project is funded by the County
of Los Angeles Regional Park and Open District.
The
renovations will begin preparations for a regulation-sized football field with
natural turf and new lighting for evening games. They will also bring a track that will surround
the field for sports like javelin, pole vault and other track sports that could
be used in all weather conditions. The
city also plans to bring two youth soccer fields and an adult soccer field.
The city originally planned to do renovations back in
2009 when the Salvation Army offered to pay for the Ray and Joan Croc Community
Corps Center, a $140 million project that never came to fruition. The reason behind why they could not continue
the project was because the Salvation Army could not raise enough funds for the
gift, only raising $15 million.
The field was known as the “dust bowl” by members of
the community because of its unpaved parking lots. Because of those conditions, renovations for
the park were always planned.
With money and back by the community, hopefully this
renovation will restore the park for everyone to enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment