ASCE Los Angeles Section

The project is located on 4th Street, south of County Line Road, in the City of Calimesa, Riverside County.

The new 4th Street Community Park in the City of Calimesa was developed on a 2.79 acre vacant parcel, and consists of a new multiuse trail with playgrounds, fitness stations, dog parks, picnic areas, restroom and storage building, parking area, fencing, lighting, landscaping, and irrigation.

The park consists of the following features:
- A playground area with equipment for older children, tot lot with teeter totters, low-rise climbing area, and a misting pole play area; sheltered group picnic areas with barbeque grills; an ADA accessible bike/rollerblade/multiuse trail with fitness stations along the trail; garden areas for quiet reflection; and two separated dog parks with sanitation stations and dog drinking fountains.

- The playground has been placed close to the street for visibility. A 0.25 mile trail surrounds the parks perimeter. The dogpark was placed to the rear of the park with picnic areas, shade trees, and gardens throughout the park.

- The following were installed: safety lighting, easily visible playgrounds and restrooms, perimeter fencing to keep children out of the adjacent open drainage channel, a formal entry to buffer the play areas from the parking lot, soft playground surfacing, and rules posted for the dog park.

The park officially opened on May 19, 2015 and will be open daily with no entrance or membership fees for park entrance. The parks central facility, housing a picnic area, shaded rest area, restroom facilities, and operations and maintenance control and storage room was designed to resemble a dragon fly, see photos.

In addition, the project includes the following sustainable techniques:
- Irrigation controllers with rain sensors and soil moisture meters.
- Use of pervious surfaces and rainwater capture for infiltration.
- At least 10% of construction materials were from recycled materials.
- Use of drought tolerant, noninvasive, native landscaping.
- Energy efficient outdoor lighting, low flow plumbing fixtures, motion activated faucets and lights, skylights, and landscaping incorporated into parking lot.

As a rural, severely disadvantaged community, the City of Calimesa relied on California Department of Parks and Recreation grant to complete this community improvement project. Without the assistance of the 2006 Parks and Water Bond funding, this project would not have been completed.  In addition, Calimesa lacks of variety in public and special interest park and recreation facilities, with the 4th Street Community Park being the first of its kind to serve the community for generations to come.  The projects unique design, variety of features, and LID elements were well received and celebrated by the community.  A year after its opening, the City still receives positive comments from residents.

The architectural design included open air restrooms, storage, and control room facility; however, during construction it was realized that this design lacked both privacy and security for users and equipment. As such, safety screening was added to the building.

After the determination to add the safety screening was made, the building was re-checked structurally for any impacts. It was found that the screening features added to building uplift. This created an obstacle as the building foundation and walls were already placed. This was overcame by field retrofits to the existing building foundations. A retrofit poured building foundation was added to overcome the added structure acting as a sail in high wind conditions. The retrofit included drill and epoxy of structural rebar to bring the building into code.

See additional photos highlighting park features.

Throughout the project duration, the Public Works Director, Bob French, and his team demonstrated outstanding professional skill, direction, and leadership required to deliver the 4th Street Community Park to the community of Calimesa.

Throughout the project duration, the Public Works Director, Bob French, and his team demonstrated outstanding professional skill, direction, and leadership required to deliver the 4th Street Community Park to the community of Calimesa.

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