Published in the April 30 – May 13, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life

A tranquil public park located next to a meandering creek an easy one-block walk west of Monterey Road would add much to the quality of life for residents and visitors in Morgan Hill’s downtown district. Such a park is now in the brain-storming stage as city staff look at ways to develop land of a little less than one acre in size that it owns on West Third Street.
Downtown Morgan Hill has been undergoing a renaissance recently in its development of private and public spaces.

A public space or park would incorporate the natural environment into the newly emerging downtown. Having trees, grass, flowers and birds in our downtown can add much to the ambiance of a modern urban setting. The concrete jungle is made a lot less threatening when people can enjoy the relaxation of a park.

Major cities such as London, Paris, San Francisco and New York add to the quality of life of their residents by incorporating parks into the urban landscape. And reflecting our farming and ranching heritage that celebrates the outdoor life, Morgan Hill should do likewise. A downtown park located along the creek on Third Street would provide a fun open air experience for people. Families could buy boxed lunches at one of our downtown’s many fine restaurants and take them to a picnic pavilion at this park, enjoying the sunshine and fair weather Morgan Hill is so often blessed with.

A park in the heart of downtown would also be of quality-of-life benefit for people who want to enjoy the great outdoors. That’s why we at Morgan Hill Life encourage our fellow citizens to attend several meetings planned for the next few weeks to get public input on the overall downtown improvements.

One special meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday May 1 at the Community and Cultural Center will seek to gather ideas and concepts from the public for a downtown park on West Third Street. That meeting will also seek public input on the idea of creating nature trails downtown that will connect to the trail now following Little Llagas Creek.

Input from this meeting will be shared with members of the Parks and Recreation Commission at its May meeting and later with members of the Morgan Hill City Council.

The more the community shows its support for a downtown public park, the more likely this project will become a reality.