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New City Heights park highlights San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria's 'Parks for All of Us' plan

Posted at 11:20 AM, Jun 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-02 14:20:52-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Wednesday, Mayor Todd Gloria announced the "Parks for All of Us Initiative" at the Wightman Street Neighborhood Park in City Heights.

"We need to ensure that going forward, city parks in the city of San Diego are created and enhanced quickly and equitably," Gloria said.

He touted this park as a model, saying every neighborhood deserves a similar park close to where they live. It would be the first update of the City's Parks Master Plan in 65 years. The last update was done when Dwight Eisenhower was president, and when the city's population was a third of what it is today.

Joined by several city council members and other community leaders, the initiative, said Gloria, would push to acquire 100 acres in 10 years.

A plan that hasn't been updated in more than a half-century, speakers said, means there is a need to identify the inequities in creating and improving city parks. Speakers added that while the city’s current park system has meant beautiful and enjoyable parks for some, it has also resulted in corresponding disinvestments for many, resulting in an overall unfair park system.

District 7 City Councilmember Raul Campillo said the priority of the initiative would allow everyone equal access to safe, clean, and thriving park spaces in the future, something highlighted as a need by the pandemic.

"It is time for a new Parks Master Plan that tells everyone in our city that no matter what neighborhood you live in you will be near a quality location to exercise with your friends, your family, and your children. We need it this year in 2021 so that we have a park system for all of us," Campillo said.

Mayor Gloria says the initiative will go under the review process and then before the city council, he hopes, this summer.