Public Weighs In On Randolph And Bright Mini Park Refresh Plan

Park upgrades could be coming to Randolph And Bright Mini Park by 2027.

The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, San Francisco Public Works Department and playground improvement nonprofit KABOOM! met virtually with the community on March 18 to gather feedback on proposals for new amenities. Plans to update the park, which hasn't been renovated since 1992, were first announced in May 2024.

“We hope that through these upcoming renovations, this mini but mighty mini park continues to foster play outside and community connection,” RPD’s Director of Children & Nature Collaborative Maria Durana said.

Initial feedback for the park, conducted in 2024, revealed the need for increased ADA accessibility, clear sight lines throughout the park for safety and open-ended play areas to inspire imagination in kids.

Public Works Landscape Architect Winnie Chang presented two designs with different layout plans to playground structures and bench arrangements during the meeting for attendees to discuss and vote on.

Both designs displayed two main zones within the park, one for play and one that was more flat and paved for gatherings. Materials for the project include log seating, synthetic turf over a rubber play surface, exposed aggregate concrete paths, engineered wood fiber mulch, boulders, picnic tables, wattle and welded wire fencing and possible play structures by commercial playground equipment manufacturers KOMPAN or Duncan & Grove.

Both would also have a tree-lined nature exploration area on the upper left side of the park that could be filled with loose wood chip mulch or understory planting.

“The site is around 77 feet long by 54 feet wide so we thought it would be appropriate to keep the design moves simple but highly intentional for a site of this scale,” Chang said.

The first layout plan showed more flex space with log seating and steppers around half of the playground's perimeter and various play structures that would sit on top of the synthetic turf. Spread-out boulders would act as a separator from the gathering and picnic zone.

The second layout plan displayed more greenery with the use of understory planting. This plan also includes log seating and steppers around half of the playground’s perimeter and play structures on top of synthetic turf but does not have a boulder separators. It also has three bistro-style picnic tables in the gathering area.

“I really appreciate the bistro-style seating because we're in such a tight space,” Johanna Lopez Miyaki, co-founder of Friends of OMI Mini Parks and We Are OMI, said. “I'd love to see more room for people to maneuver around.”

Three styles of play structures were also presented. Option one consisted of wooden towers with a slide and upright pole that are connected by net bridges and climbing walls. Option two had wooden towers with ladders, climbing ropes, one net bridge and exercise bars. The third and final option depicted a wood climbing structure with web netting and climbing ropes.

While attendees, such as Friends of the OMI Mini Parks and We Are OMI organizer Alyssa Cheung, liked aspects of each option, several voiced concerns about accessibility for kids of all ages, wear and tear of rope-like structures and metal objects heating up under the sun. Attendees also asked for child-sized tables, checkerboards on the bistro tabletops and a bulletin board.

“I think that all of them are certainly usable by older kids but having something that even a toddler can kind of like go around the perimeter of or go down the slide is always really nice,” Cheung said. “That's kind of what I appreciate about the Merced Heights Playground, for example, something that the kids can start early and grow into.”

Participants, like Sterling Framers owner Oronde Sterling, also voiced concerns about the daily maintenance of the park. GG Gaudet, the park supervisor for the gardening crew based out of Lake Merced, said that there is one gardner who conducts daily basic health and safety checks between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

“Unfortunately, the park does see a lot of activity outside of that,” Gaudet said. “At times, it's difficult. As soon as we leave, it seems like somebody walks by with their dog and the park gets dirty again but we're doing our best to stay on top of that on a daily basis.” 

The next step for the $2 million project, which is being paid by KABOOM!’s fundraising efforts and partially by RPD’s 2020 Health and Recovery Bond, is to finish completing the final design and feedback process. The team anticipates sending the project out for bid in Winter 2025, starting construction in Spring 2026 and open by early 2027. 

For those who were unable to attend, RPD has an online survey for patrons to complete by April 4 by 5 p.m.