As more families with children move to Richmond for its relatively affordable housing and natural beauty, some residents say the city should do more to improve its parks and add new recreation spaces to strengthen community bonds. Plus, they, too want more green spaces to enjoy.
The city has 50 parks, comprising about 250 acres, that are managed by its Public Works department. That’s just .7 percent of the total number of acres within the city limits. There are seven East Bay Regional Park District parks in or adjacent to the city, comprising several thousand acres. But much of that space is undeveloped and not easily accessed compared to neighborhood parks.
Marcia Vallier, the city’s senior landscape architect, said Richmond has only about 2.4 acres of park land for every 1,000 residents (the statewide average is 3 acres per 1,000 residents). And there aren’t enough workers to maintain them. Half of Richmond’s parks staff exclusively service the Marina and Hilltop neighborhoods, leaving just 12 workers to maintain 45 other parks since the city hasn’t yet budgeted funds to hire more employees.
This fact isn’t lost on residents, as families seek places to gather. North Richmond resident Marilyn Saarni said that her community east of Interstate 80 is filling with new families and older adults but is short on well-maintained parks. The neighborhoods are adjacent to some open space but those lack accessible trails and developed parks.
Saarni said on her walks around the neighborhood she doesn’t see people walking their dogs or strolling with children in tow, due to a dearth of smooth trails and family-friendly spaces.
“We have unique issues like no fencing to protect kids and dogs from spontaneous coyote and mountain lion intrusions,” said Saarni, who also serves on the West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council. “There are no fenced tot lots anywhere. And of course public toilets are a fantasy.”
Complicating the issue, the city’s park stewards, citizens appointed to serve on Richmond’s Recreation and Parks Commission, haven’t been able to meet for months because they don’t have a quorum. Only five of nine available seats are currently filled. The commission only met five times in 2023, and since 2021, three members resigned before their terms were completed.
Richmond City Council member, Soheila Bana, representing District 4, Saarni’s district, said that she thinks the city and Contra Costa County have neglected parks in the region.
“There are many elderly (residents) in my community,” Bana said. “For the young ones, we don’t have a community park. Cheese Park (La Moine) doesn’t have a bathroom, its toddler area isn’t fenced and there have been mountain lions.”
Bana has pushed for more maintenance and new parks. But, she said, part of the problem is that the city considers East Bay Regional Park District land when determining if a neighborhood has adequate green spaces.
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Richmond has only about 2.4 acres of park land for every 1,000 residents while the statewide average is 3 acres per 1,000 residents.
— Marcia Vallier, Richmond’s senior landscape architect
Without adequate city parks, she said, “Our parents tell us they take their children to Walnut Creek to find playgroups and play in parks. Our only community center (May Valley Community Center) doesn’t even have HVAC, and it’s being used as a daycare center.”
Bana said that when she asked the city staff to consider creating a new dog park as a community space, “My suggestion vanished into thin air. But I will continue to ask for money.”
Parks and Public Works employees have not responded to Richmondside to answer questions about the total budget allocated for maintenance and staffing for park improvements. But according to the adopted 2024-25 budget, the city has $118 million for the entire Public Works department, of which about $2.9 million is earmarked for spending on the operations department responsible for managing parks. The city can also elect to spend funds generated from the American Rescue Plan Act or can use capital improvement fees on different parks projects.
Some parks getting major improvements
There are some improvements underway at various city parks, such as accessibility upgrades at the garden in Unity Park. The city maintains a list of parks and facilities online, including standards for parks and landscaping, but its master plan for parks was last updated in 2010.
According to the city’s capital improvements dashboard, about 20% of work to revitalize Boorman Park is done. Staff are about 35% done with work at Shields-Reid Park, using two state Prop. 68 grants. More than $9 million is being spent to renovate Dirt World Bike Park and do work at Shields-Reid, including adding a new children’s play area, new fencing and stadium lighting, a performance area, fitness zone, public art, a habitat garden and tree shade areas.
Another large project, the Soccer Fields Park Assessment Project, is underway to identify locations for soccer fields and make upgrades to restrooms and tennis courts for recreation, practice, and competition in Richmond. The city held an open house on Aug. 26 where attendees could indicate their preferences for different improvement options for several parks: Martin Luther King, Jr., Shields-Reid and Wendell. Residents placed stickers onto poster boards to show which improvements they liked best.
Parks and Recreation staff said that the city council voted to use $7 million of American Rescue dollars to improve the three parks. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. will get upgrades to its restrooms, including new doors and windows, lighting fixtures and drinking fountains.
Vallier, the senior landscape architect, said the city is looking to prioritize parks and fields used by soccer clubs and leagues.
Some residents said fences at Wendell Park in East Richmond are so rusted and damaged children can’t play near them, and there’s a problem with trash accumulation. The park also needs replacement of its grass irrigation systems and bleachers, nighttime lights, a renovated softball infield and a new single-stall restroom.
The trouble, some say, is even if parks are improved, they can’t be properly maintained if there aren’t enough staff. Vallier said the city council is working to shift funds toward filling vacancies in the public works department, but didn’t explain how much that could cost.
City Council member Doria Robinson, representing District 3, said at the open house: “We have a history of creating new things, and then not being able to maintain them. You come back in two years, and the (new) thing is destroyed. It is no wonder that our parks look like crap, because we’re asking these 12 people to go all over and do all the things.”
WCCUSD school parks expected to fill in gaps
With limited city funds, Richmonders say they wonder why the school district’s parks can’t do more to meet the need for parks.
North Richmond parent Whitney Griswold said she thinks the West Contra Costa Unified School District could keep some outdoor recreation facilities open during non-school hours. During the pandemic, many school campuses were restricted for access, and some never fully reopened. This has negatively impacted many families who need safe spaces to gather, she said.
“I used to see many teens playing basketball at these facilities as well, and it was good to see youth spending time outdoors and socializing,” Griswold told Richmondside. “All of this has been taken away, at a great disservice to the public. These school campuses are the most accessible safe spaces in our community where our children can play and where we can meet neighbors. We pay taxes that are supposed to facilitate access to these facilities, but over the years we have witnessed continued closures and more fences built to prevent access.”
Griswold said that according to a survey circulated at schools in her area, allowing residents to anonymously comment, many parents feel the same way. About 47 people wrote about issues accessing different school campuses, asking why the gates to different facilities get locked after school hours. Some said fences around baseball and basketball facilities remain locked, and signs attributing closures to the pandemic still remain at some sites.
WCCUSD school board chair Jamela Smith-Folds and board clerk and trustee Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy said that the board and staff have been working on these issues for about two years. Only some high school facilities allow public access on the weekends.
“As of right now, the public should have access to all of our schools Monday through Friday from when kids leave to when it gets dark and our custodians go home,” Gonzalez-Hoy said. “If that is not happening, we have asked the public to notify the district office so that they can address it with the school.”
Currently, the district does not have the funding for staffing to keep most facilities open on weekends, which would cost about $1 million per year, Gonzalez-Hoy added. However, he said that through a partnership with Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, the district will soon get about $250,000 to allow nonprofit youth sport organizations to use school fields during the week and on weekends.
According to Richmond Community Development Director Lina Velasco, whose department oversees parks, cities in California rely heavily on grant funding to create new parks. While the city is always looking for innovative ways to repurpose open space, Velasco said she wasn’t aware of any new funding opportunities coming to the council before the end of the year.
“Sometimes it’s grant projects that bring opportunities to bring enhancements through community vision plans, or known improvements needed to a park,” Velasco said. “Some of it, I think, is just from public input and requests.”
Given some of the roadblocks, Saarni told Richmondside that some residents in her area are turning to new ideas, such as asking city officials about developing an open space to walk dogs. She said Point Isabel is a great resource for dog owners but is too far for many people from her neighborhood and others in Richmond.
Others want the city to hire a trail expert to redevelop sloped land, particularly for those with accessibility issues, Saarni said: “Over here, we have no parks for people with accessibility challenges.”
Ultimately, she said, it’s up to Richmond city officials to prioritize increasing usable park spaces across the city while emphasizing underserved areas like hers.
“The city of Richmond should be welcoming families, and they have to provide space for families,” Saarni said. “If they want to build strong bonds in communities, they have to provide multi-use areas that welcome all abilities and all ages.”
From paragraph 4: North Richmond is definitely not east of i-80. You might be thinking of the ‘North and East’ neighborhood, or East Richmond Heights? Very distinct communities!
Noted! Was wondering this. Thank you for clarifying.
North and East is not east of 80, it is west of 80. Don’t know how it got the east part of N and E, but I live there so I do know it’s west of 80.
De Anza High School could be earmarked to begin bringing families that need safe outdoor quality time for their families and friends. Our community is desperate for outdoor spaces for everyone, special needs, old, young, and maybe lonely just to sit on a bench around people that care!
Sometimes it takes more community involvement. I agree with Doris that parks and open spaces have been put in, some with professional sports teams involvement, and two years later they have gone to crap. If people would take ownership of some of these spaces they would be better kept, i.e. picking up trash, less graffiti and vandalism.Albany has a group of citizens who go out and pick up trash along San Pablo Ave. I personally weed and pick up the trash in the traffic circle near me.