DOLORES PARK ON THE GO

And More...

The Dolores Park reopening if for a near future. It's getting obviously closer... and greener! Update in figures and pictures.

We went there to check how our beloved Dolores Park was moving forward. Under the end of the afternoon sun, even though there are still a lot of things to complete, it was already gorgeous.The brand new lawn seemed to shine and gleam with its tangy and bright green nuances.

Since the beginning of the decade, the Dolores Park went through an overall refurbishment. In 2012, the brand new Helen Diller playground opened to the public. The south side of the park could once again welcome thousands of people every week end to enjoy the friendly sun.

And then, some months later, the north part was closed to let the diggers and shovels do their job, demolish to better rebuild. It is true that it spoiled some habits and traditions but it was worth the wait. We are so close now. The lawn is green like in a dream on Dolores Park's hill and is, for the moment, under the protection of fences and barriers to give it some time to fortify before the crowd invades the space and resist the assault!

In the original calendar, the reopening was planned for mid-june. And they made it! On DoloresParkWorks,org, Juen 18th is announced. Let's party... discretely! Indeed, the re-opening will be celebrated with a special silent-disco party. Grab your headphones, dance and enjoy the moment! Join the crowd!

Those 3 years that it took for the whole completion have seen the park attendance surge. Some vandalism episods also occured at a high cost for the city and leading to new delays in the work process. Another issue happened to become a priority for the park management: howto deal with the huge amount of trash left behind by the misbehaving crowd? The issue prevails for many outdoor events in the city, like concerts or gathering like the 420 one. But here, we hav to deal with a recurrent issue.

Beyond the trash problem to be addressed, the public restrooms are also a real challenge. Once we know that the Dolores Park welcome about 10000 visitors per week end, we understand what is at stake. And here, porta potties are not an option. The plan was to have the first open air pissoirs in San Francisco installed in the Park. Interesting! But for the moment, it seems that they remained plans and regular lavatories have been built.

To finish with, here are some figures to illustrate the whole thing...

20 million dollars invested in the construction process, 14 acres area, 10000 people every week end when the sun shines (which means almost every week end!), about half a gallon of trash per people, $750000 yearly spent by the city for the clean up, 6 tennis courts (always good to know!), 1 unique view whatever happens!