City Beat
Master plan for WG's new Hummingbird Park OK'd by City Council
Park opens spring of 2003 at Bird and Fisk avenues
By Susan Wiedmann
The Bird/Fisk Pocket Park Master Plan was approved "without comment" at the May 21 San Jose City Council meeting.
The future park is currently a 15,000-square-foot lot located at the intersection of Bird and Fisk avenues, between Highway 280 and Willow Street. Also approved at the meeting was a recommendation by the San Jose Parks and Recreation Commission to name the area Hummingbird Park.
District 6 San Jose City Councilman Ken Yeager had requested the funding for the $300,000 project, which is now included in San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales' budget message for the 2001-02 fiscal year. "We got the money allocated last year, and now we have our master plan," Yeager said. "We anticipate construction to begin in the fall of this year, with completion in the spring of 2003."
The master plan calls for a toddler play structure and a small, enclosed grass area for informal play, as well as installation of two game tables, landscaping and a tubular steel 42-inch-high fence around the perimeter of the park. The North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (NWGNA) will adopt and plant flowers in the "color spot," a landscaped area at the corner of the park, said Alison England, president of the NWGNA. Existing trees on the property will remain, and the city of San Jose's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services is expected to plant more trees on the property.
England said that Hummingbird Park is an appropriate name because it is a small space, along Bird Avenue, and toddlers will be enjoying the space.
Rene Erez, a NWGNA member and head of various open space committees, created the initial design of the park, which remains mostly intact.
According to England, the site has had a long history of problems. It had been adopted by the north Willow Glen neighborhood under a San Jose Beautiful grant, but had been maintained only by one individual in the community. Once he stopped his work on it, the area reverted to its natural overgrown state, creating an unkempt look for the neighborhood.
Vagrants have also been an occasional problem. The park shares two of its four sides with the backyards of private homes, creating safety concerns among those homeowners.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
