Skatepark Upgrades And Fitness Equipment Proposed For Balboa Park

Over 30 residents crowded into Ingleside Police Station’s Community Room on Monday for the first of three meetings about proposed improvements for elements of Balboa Park.

Friends of Balboa Park San Francisco, a group of neighbors who have revived the Friends of Balboa Park Playground group, organized the meeting to gauge community interest and collect feedback before advancing its proposals.

The group’s steering team members Chris Campbell and Paul Hagen led the presentation.

“There are a lot of new families that have moved into the neighborhood a lot of things like we'll talk about this evening, like the skateboard park, that were done way back when to now need renovating and so what we're trying to do is kind of galvanize the community around

again being stewards of the park and advocating for changes and things that we want done in the park,” Hagen said.

The park punches above its weight, equipped with ball fields, a pool, tennis courts, a soccer stadium and more.

Skatepark Renovations

The first part of the program dealt with the skatepark at the park’s southeast corner. Campbell, the group’s skate park liaison, led the presentation with his son Cayden and colleague Zach Pfeffer.

Proposed renovations included retrofitting the wood-and-concrete skatepark to be entirely concrete to withstand long-term wear and tear and mitigate splintering, nails and screws that have caused issues for skaters.

In addition, portions of the park would be redesigned to include new obstacles such as curbs and mini ramps, a side-by-side stair and ramp installation that would connect the obstacle portion to the bowl portion, a modern three-tiered bowl and a dedicated upper plaza area with amenities for beginners such as skateable benches, manny pad stages and flat ground and other park-goer features like seating and tables, chess tables and succulent or native plant grass beds.

With consultation by skatepark design and installation companies Wormhoudt Inc. and Spohn Ranch, the estimated project cost would be $90 per square foot and covers everything from design, permitting and San Francisco’s prevailing wage to demolition and installation, bringing the grand total to roughly $1.25 million. As plans unfold, they hope to get funding from private and public grants.

“It looks like we’re trying to raise $1.25 million, $1.3 million, something like that which is a lot of money but doesn’t seem too crazy when it sounds like it takes $2 million to install a bathroom in a park in San Francisco,” Campbell said. “It’s just the way it is.”

Members of the community asked about the maintenance and upkeep of the park, including how to solve the issue of graffiti. Campbell suggested working with local artists to create a dedicated mural to help deter tagging and partnering with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department for ongoing maintenance.

One attendee asked if a dedicated bike and walking path around the park’s baseball field could also lead to the skatepark. Campbell said the idea would be explored in the future.

When asked how long this project would take, Campbell didn’t have a set answer but estimated about six months to one year. Chris Long, a skatepark designer at New Line Skatepark, said it could take closer to one year and a half.

Outdoor Fitness Equipment

The remainder of the presentation was conducted by Hagen, who is also the group’s fitness and athletic fields liaison.

The proposal includes implementing a dedicated outdoor spot with fitness equipment, like pull bars, exercise benches, parallel bars, plyometric steps and more, from companies Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, which has installations in Potrero Hill’s Progress Park or the National Fitness Campaign, that has installations in the Marina neighborhood and at Civic Center/UN Plaza.

The set of equipment installed and its cost are also dependent on which company is chosen and the friends group would partner with the San Francisco Parks Alliance, other organizations and the community to fund the project.

The cost would be between $30,000 and $60,000 for black or green-colored bars and strengthening equipment, leaving it open for a combination of different structures.

National Fitness Campaign’s Fitness Court, however, is a preset blue installation with core and agility structures and the option to add a floor studio for activities like Zumba, Tai-Chi and more. If accepted for NFC’s grant funding award of $30,000 to $40,000, the project would cost $175,000 or $237,500 with the floor studio addition. Both would also include a wall with the option to use NFC’s mural design for an additional $10,000 or hire a local muralist for $25,000.

A key component to be considered for their grant application is providing an impactful site which includes being visible, active and connected. Hagen said he feels that it’s doable at Balboa Park because it would most likely be visible from roads like San Jose Avenue, multiple people are already using the park’s facilities and it is close to public transportation.

NFC also works to help fundraise on projects and match funds.

Hagen and the team have four proposed locations within Balboa Park for installation including a spot to the right of the basketball courts near the pool’s entrance, a spot in between the two paths that connect the children’s playground to the tennis courts, a spot across from the tennis courts and closer to San Jose Avenue which they were leaning most towards or crafting multiple and smaller pop-ups throughout the park.

Attendees shared concerns about the location closer to San Jose Avenue, saying it may not be the best fit due to ongoing activities like parties, rugby or youth soccer. Many preferred placing it by Balboa Pool since other workout programs like Zumba classes already take place in that location.

“People play basketball over there because it's a natural windbreak,” David Hooper said. “The same way where people hitting a tennis ball or kicking the ball off the concrete wall immediately to the right. That is where the boot camp takes place and Zumba. It takes place in that proximity for activities because the building provides a wind break.”

Comet Skateboards Branch Manager Aaron Breetwor asked if there was a way to include more equipment through the GOF’s option like adding a balance beam since they could get more with similar pricing as the NFC option.

Hagen said they could definitely include more into the design with GOF to offer more options for users.

“What I just started was if it’s good enough for Prospect Park, it’s probably good enough for us, so let’s start with that,” Hagen said. “You’re absolutely right. We could sort of look at that equipment [on Greenfields] and say what else can we do.”

Though there isn’t a set date for the next meeting just yet, Hagen said they will be collecting comments for the next two weeks and residents can email them at balboaparksf@gmail.com with feedback.