By Beryl Forman
Where there is a lack of public park space in a neighborhood, as is the case in San Diego, often a solution is to convert a school field into a joint-use field. This allows a park to remain open to the public after school hours. In the City of San Diego, the our Park & Recreation Department and the San Diego Unified School District have created legal agreements to establish joint-use fields.
Unfortunately, that is only half the solution. What is lacking from many of these joint-use parks is the ability to function as a public park. Take for example Wilson Middle School in City Heights. The entrance to the school is in on Orange Ave, at the corner of 38th Street. It once faced El Cajon Boulevard, but the structure was reversed during a period of re-developing buildings to become earthquake proof. This left El Cajon Boulevard with an expansive fence line and no available access (because the door remains locked) to the school and the park. In fact, there is only one entrance on Orange Ave, which is difficult to find and limits access to residents living north of El Cajon Boulevard. [Read more…]