Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Oak Meadow Park slated for safety improvements

By Suzy Ramirez

Oak Meadow Park will be safer for children and more accessible to the handicapped, thanks to a face lift approved by the Los Gatos Town Council at their July 7 meeting.

The project costs a total of $184,000 and is funded in the 1997-98 Capital Improvement Budget.

The park on Blossom Hill Road, known for its carousel and train rides, has unique playground equipment including a fire engine, a U.S. Air Force fighter plane and a bright red steam engine with a carriage. There is a potential for danger, however, in the metal slide and climbing equipment, which has necessitated its replacement.

In order to meet current safety standards, two new play systems will be installed; two climbing walls and new toddler and school-age swing sets will also be added. The sand will be replaced with chopped wood, and an additional designated area will contain sand and sand-related play equipment. The plane and fire engine also will be repainted. Redwood benches will replace the current seating around the playground area.

According to the Town Council report, general hazards with the existing playground equipment include pinching, crunch and shearing points and head entrapment openings. One parent added the fact that the metal equipment is very hot during the summer.

As Karen Zahiralis pushed her two-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, on a toddler swing, she said she was glad the playground equipment would be replaced, but "classic equipment," such as the fire engine and plane, would remain and be improved. "They [engine and plane] are what makes this park different from the other parks," Zahiralis said.

Playground areas, picnic areas and existing playground surfacing are not wheelchair accessible as required by the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. Under the project budget, wheelchair access will be added to the carousel and barbecue pits; gravel paths will be replaced with paved walkways; and one handicapped parking space will be added.

The project is expected to start in September and should be finished toward the end of October, said John Iaquinto, Parks, Forestry and Maintenance Services park superintendent. Iaquinto designed the renovations.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]