If built, the three projects will make downtown more active and family-friendly
Published in the September 14-27, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
To all the new construction that downtown Morgan Hill will see in the next two years, add the possibility of several public parks to the mix. City Council members at the Sept. 21 meeting will vote on moving forward with three new park developments that will enhance the downtown experience for residents and visitors.
If approved, the Depot Street area park will be a train-themed park located on about half of what is now the Depot Street parking lot south of the Third Street intersection. A creek park will be constructed on city-owned property near the West Third Street bridge along the Little Llagas Creek. A hill top trail park will connect Third Street to Fifth Street at Del Monte Avenue and give people the opportunity to see the city from vistas from the water tank area on the summit of Nob Hill.
Last year, the city conducted community outreach to help shape the design concepts. If the council gives the green light, the projects will be put out to bid this fall. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of next summer, said Chris Ghione, director of community services with the city.
“We want to time when we put it out to bid because the time of the year construction starts can help us save on costs,” he said. “We’re working with the architects who are designing the projects on how to get the best deal for the city.”
The three projects will make downtown more family-friendly as a district of the community and create more activities for residents and visitors, he said.
“For me, I live here and I know how important parks are,” Ghione said. “It’s going to be a benefit for everyone in town. People are going to be able to do other things downtown besides shop and eat. They will be able to exercise and play, which is cool. As more people move downtown, these places are totally needed.”
Depot Park will replace 54 parking spaces within the parking lot adjacent to Depot Street just south of the train platform. It will be an activity-focused park with play equipment designed to serve younger children and families. The existing train station shop, now used by Jonty’s Vietnamese Eatery, would also complement and support the active design of the park. Potentially, elements from the temporary Pop-Up Park, now located on the corner of Second Street and Monterey Road, will be incorporated into the park such as the AstroTurf, the big blue chair and the popular giant-sized construction blocks.
Resilient rubber paving will cover the ground. Train tracks will be painted for children to follow around the playground equipment. The centerpiece of the park will be a 40-foot tower that has slides coming out of it.
A seven-foot-tall sound wall will be built on the side along the Southern Pacific tracks to help reduce the noise of trains passing nearby. A railroad-themed mural will cover the wall.
“This park will be a big playground. It’s going to have lots of cool play equipment and fun things for kids,” Ghione said. “There will be lots of shade and a lot of fun stuff.” The area where the “Waiting for the Train” statue stands will still be a plaza and it will face the playground park, he added.
The creek park will use the area’s natural features to create a welcoming park just steps away from the city’s downtown, Ghione said. It will be a quieter park than the one on Depot Street. Benches, tables and pathways will be included as well as potential recreation features that are more passive in nature.
The city is expected to include the use of two small properties now owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Ghione said. One of these parcels will provide a walking path to Second Street and the other will serve to enhance the park gateway at the Third Street Bridge with a bicycle hub area for cyclists to find a rest-stop where they can refill their water bottles and fix their bikes if needed. A water fountain and safety lights will be installed in the creek area of the park.
“It’s all going to stay pretty natural as well next to the creek. It’s a cool place to come and eat your lunch or read a book,” Ghione said. “There will be some play equipment for kids, but it’s all natural themed equipment and will be more basic than what you’ll see on the Depot Park so it should be a more passive kind of quiet park.”
West Third Street will be repaved and turned into a one-lane, one-direction road heading west up Nob Hill and into Del Monte Avenue A pedestrian path on the south side of the road will provide a safe way for people to walk up the hill to the trail and park at the top. Par course equipment for exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups will be installed for residents and visitors at the top of Nob Hill. Another feature of the trail would be slides built into the hill to provide a fun downhill ride of about 40 to 50 feet.
“We’re trying to make sure it’s as fun as possible and safe also,” Ghione said. “It’s going to be a plastic slide but it will use the whole slope of the hill as the downward slide. There will be curves in it. There might be a landing in the middle. The cool thing about it is that it will encourage people to go up the hill. And when they go up the hill, that’s some great exercise. You don’t have to go to the gym, you just walk right up the hill.”
The Nob Hill park will have safety lighting on polls as well as surveillance cameras so the police dispatch can monitor the area for vandalism and other issues, he said. There is now a security fence around the water tank with razor wire, and the city intends to plant different types of vegetation around it to help mask the fence. Signs on Monterey Road in downtown will encourage people to discover the parks.
The city staff is still working on the final budget numbers for all three park projects for the city council’s decision, Ghione said. The project is estimated to cost a little more than $4.5 million, which includes street improvements and other infrastructure items, he said.
“A lot people who like to walk or run will figure out that this is a cool loop to do. It’s going to be a huge benefit because you’re going to be able to walk from downtown and do something like this and go right back downtown,” Ghione said.
