Neighbors were thrilled to see the long-awaited project finally completed. Mark Johnson, a previous resident of the neighborhood, waited more than a decade for the city of San Jose to adopt the park.

In 1992, Johnson was responsible for turning a 15,000-square-foot vacant lot into a "natural park," with a garden that required volunteer maintenance. With funding from a San Jose Beautiful grant, he cleared out trash from the lot and added two light posts, a path, boulders, a drainage system and landscaping.

"It's great to see what the park is today because I couldn't get it adopted as a real park by the city at that time," says Johnson. When he moved to Saratoga, the maintenance proved to be too much for neighborhood volunteers to handle, says North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association President Alison England. Once he stopped his work on it, the area reverted to its overgrown state.

When Ken Yeager became San Jose District 6 city councilman two years ago, he walked through the area with members of the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association. England says they pointed out the area and asked for a city-operated park.

"The city went above and beyond what we had hoped, and I'm tickled to death people are enjoying and using the park already," England says.

Former north Willow Glen resident Rene Erez contacted Yeager's office to discuss ways to improve the volunteer-run park. Erez is not only a community leader who pushed for the park's construction, she is also a professional landscape designer and designed the park's layout.

Yeager subsequently worked with neighbors and the city's park officials to find funding to build a new park. The master plan to build the pocket park was approved in May, and the San Jose City Council allocated $300,000 for the project in June last year.

The small park, called a pocket park, is geared for toddlers. It is a landscaped park with one toddler play structure in the center surrounded by a circular concrete path. Benches surround the circular playground so parents can watch their children. The park also features two game tables where visitors can play chess or checkers.

But older children can enjoy the park as well. Brother and sister Benjamin, 12, and Yvonne, 14, who live nearby, have watched the park's installation. They say the concrete walkway is a nice place to Rollerblade.

"It's a great place to spend a nice afternoon," says their mother, Pearl Letvinchuck. "It's a big improvement from what was here before. Now it's really beautiful."

The park was scheduled to be completed this spring but finished early. Residents have been enjoying the park for a couple of weeks.

The park is not big enough for restrooms or drinking fountain facilities, but because the park allows dogs, two Mutt Mitt dispensers were installed. The North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association planted flowers and San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services planted trees throughout the park.

"We used to know this as a blighted city lot, but Mark Johnson had an original vision," says neighborhood association member Dan Erceg. "As soon as the chain-link fences came down, parents immediately took their toddlers in. The neighborhood was thirsty for this."

There were about 45 people at the park's dedication on Feb. 22, more than at the groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 24, Yeager says.

San Jose City Parks Manager Steve Roemer says the city "tries to find pockets with vacant lots to put very small parks in," like this one.

A number of local residents brought family to show off the park.

But while some neighbors are happy about the park's opening, they have also expressed concern about its location at a busy intersection.

Long Van Nguyen, who lives near the park, sees cars speed by after exiting Interstate 280 at Bird Avenue. He says that the park is a "brilliant smart-growth idea" but there needs to be a traffic study, photo radar machines set up more often than once per month and more police patrolling the area.

"I applaud the people that made this park happen, but I've already seen kids throwing balls back and forth, and I can just imagine something dangerous happening," Van Nguyen says.

Erceg says the park committee took safety into consideration. A 42-inch-high steel fence surrounds the park, with a gate on Bird Avenue. The gate opens to a concrete walkway bordered by grass, plants and shrubs.

The gate has a place to add a padlock if "parents say they feel it's not safe," Erceg says.

"We had no intentions of having a higher fence because toddlers can't get over this fence, and older kids can get into trouble no matter what," Erceg says. "Originally we didn't even want a fence, but because it is a busy street we put it up. So far there have been no problems."

Bob and Teri Broleman, who live near the park and bring their young nieces and nephew to use it, are very aware of the park's location adjacent to a busy intersection.

Bob says, "People need to keep an eye on their children."

Laura Herse, who has lived in the neighborhood 14 years, plans to bring her five children. She used to have to walk to Biebrach Park on Virginia Avenue so she is pleased with the closer park. Her daughter Dulce, 3, says the park is "lots of fun."

Another neighbor, Alex Fraser, watched the park's installation. He brings his 4-year-old niece to play and already sees children walking past his house to use the park daily.

"The park is in the perfect location because Bird Avenue is a major artery in and out of Willow Glen, and it is very visible," Fraser says. "It is prettier than what was here before, and it will attract parents with younger kids. It is also nice that it's fenced in."