In its latest round of Proposition 68 funding grants, the California Department of Parks and Recreation has awarded nearly $54 million to Los Angeles County jurisdictions for the development of open space amenities.  The 15 projects include new parks, multi-use paths, and improvements to existing facilities.

The City of Baldwin Park was awarded approximately $2.5 million for the construction of the Big Dalton Wash Trail Greenway, which would connect Hilda Solis Park and Walnut Creek Park.  The 2.8-mile corridor would include public art, landscaping, and lighting.

The City of Los Angeles received funding allocations for four projects, including two which will bring new green space to the Sun Valley and Boyle Heights neighborhoods.

The City's Department of Recreation and Parks will receive nearly $7 million for the development of Allegheny Park, a proposed one-acre park at 11957-11963 Allegheny Street in Sun Valley.  The project will include splash pads, playgrounds, a walking path, fitness equipment, picnic areas, shade structures, public restrooms, landscaping, and public art honoring women in Sun Valley who have fought for environmental and community justice causes.

The City of Los Angeles purchased the site in 2019 using $3.36 million in CRA/LA Excess Bond Proceed funds, according to an announcement from City Council President Nury Martinez.

Allegheny Park will be located in a part of Sun Valley in which there are no public green spaces within a half-mile radius.  The nearest park is located a mile away, and on the opposite side of the Golden State Freeway, according to Martinez's office.

The City of Los Angeles has also secured a $5.2-million state grant to facilitate the construction of a new pocket park near Metro's Soto Station in Boyle Heights.  Brooklyn Heights Park, slated for a .20-acre site at 318 N. Mathews Street, will include three playgrounds, fitness equipment, a plaza, shade structure, a walking path, and public art.

According to a staff report given last year to the Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks Commissions, approximately 14,000 people live in the neighborhood surrounding the Brooklyn Heights Park site, including 5,100 persons within a half-mile radius.

The City of Monrovia has been awarded $675,000 for an expanion and upgrade of Lucinda Garcia Park, located at 502 W. Olive Avenue.  Plans call for the construction of new playgrounds, fencing, picnic tables, exercise stations, gardens, walking paths, and other features.  Additionally, the park will add a new monument sign and new signage referencing the park's origins as a right-of-way for the historic Pacific Electric Railway.

Temple City will receive nearly $3 million for the development of Primrose Park, a new green space slated for a half-acre site on the 5900 block of Primrose Avenue.  Plans call for a playground, picnic area, open space lawn, walking track, exercise equipment, public art, and water features.

Los Angeles County's Department of Parks and Recreation has received funding for the development of four new parks located in the unincorporated communities of West Whittier-Los Nietos, Westmont, Florence-Firestone, and Walnut Park.

A roughly $3-million grant will go towards the development of Whittier Park, featuring an aquatic center, play area, exercise equipment, picnic area, public art, and walking path.

The County has been awarded nearly $1.3 million for the construction of a new pocket park at the intersection of 95th Street and Normandie Avenue in Westmont.  The .16-acre site is slated for amenities such as shade structures, a garden, public art, and landscaping.

The State has awarded approximately $7.8 million in funding for the development of 92nd Street Linear Park in Florence-Firestone.  The proposed park would repurpose unused space beneath power transmission lines along 92nd Street and Success Avenue into 27 acres of park space featuring walking paths, basketball courts, sports fields, playgrounds, exercise equipment, a performance stage, a community garden, and other amenities.

The neighboring City of South Gate has already converted space under the transmission lines into a similar linear green space called Cesar Chavez Park.

The County will receive approximately $4.3 million for the construction of Walnut Park Pocket Park, slated for a property at the intersection of Pacific Boulevard and Grand Avenue.  The roughly half-acre site will be improved with playgrounds, exercise equipment, a splash pad, a walking path, a performance stage, a picnic area, public restrooms, and public art.

Walnut Park, with 16,000 residents in an area of less than .75 square miles, is among the most densely-populated communities in Los Angeles County.  It also ranks among the most park-poor neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, currently featuring just 4.5 acres of public green space.

The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust has been awarded $5 million for the construction of Wishing Tree Neighborhood Park, which held a groundbreaking ceremony in late 2018 in the unincorporated community of West Carson.

The eight-acre park will include a baseball field, a basketball court, futsal courts, a community room, a walking path, a playground, a picnic area, landscaping, and public art.

Other Los Angeles County projects awarded funding include:

  • The City of Bell's Pritchard Field Improvement, which will bring $4.49 million in upgrades to an existing park;
  • The City of Los Angeles's upgrades to the Lincoln Heights Recreation Center and El Sereno Arroyo Playground;
  • The City of Pomona's renovation of Hamilton Park; and
  • The City of San Fernando's Layne Park Revitalization Project.

For a full list of projects receiving Proposition 68 funds, click here.