WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Neighbors on Spruce Street in the Pleasant City neighborhood in West Palm Beach want a safe place for their kids to play and now change appears to be on the horizon.
Raymond Rawls says he lives near Gaines Park and goes there for its amenities.
“It looks cool out here, he was getting a little fidgety at home so I brought him out a little bit,” Rawls said.
The shaded playground is a new addition to the park. It was unveiled in 2018. It’s all part of a $23 million, five-year plan to upgrade parks and facilities in West Palm Beach.
“The city is improving on their part but there’s some that need to be improved on,” Rawls said.
About a mile away at Blum Park in Pleasant City neighbors say the park has come a long way, but they still don’t have working bathrooms and there are safety concerns.
“It needs to be updated. It needs to be clean because I come out here with my stuff and spray it,” Annette Dunn said. “And me and the kids are out here picking up beer cans and this and that there, putting them in the garbage making sure the park is clean.”
Rudolph Galindo with West Palm Beach Parks and Recreation says crews are renovating the bathrooms and splash pad at this park. The goal is to have it done by September.
“Having an element in the park that allows kids to come out and stay cool during these hot months in really the intent of it,” he said.
Dunn, a grandmother of two says new lights and more patrols are already helping ease safety concerns.
“The drugs are not in here as much. It’s gotten better,” she said.
At Phipps Park in West Palm Beach, you’ll find most of the Baseball Complex closed for renovations. Those fields are leased by Phipps Youth Baseball, and with oversight from the city, they are getting a small makeover. Ross Smith hosts a summer camp teaching children baseball and says he’s already seeing improvements.
“Simple things like nets, putting up extra areas to hit providing space around the fields for comfort for fans and families,” Smith, XL Baseball Camp said.
The rest of the park is open to the public.
West Palm Beach Parks and Recreation says dozens of projects to upgrade city parks and facilities have been going on since 2016. This fiscal year they’re expected to spend around $12 million on upgrades and renovations. The projects are funded by a combination of city funds, bond funds, and one-cent sales tax revenues.
“We hear really the needs from community, from there we prioritize what goes into the park and the priority is based a lot on safety or use of the park,” Galindo said. “Some of our larger parks like Gains Park where we have a lot of users we want to make sure that we have the amenities that they need to enjoy the space.”
List of West Palm Beach Parks and Recreation projects
The City of West Palm Beach has completed the latest phase of the City Parks Improvements Project, which includes:
• The installation of a new playground at Mary Brandon Park at 700 Maddock St.;
• The installation of a new playground and pavilion at Chillingworth Park at 414 Erie Pl.;
• And pre-construction work on pedestrian pathways and a pavilion at Gaines Park at 1501 N Australian Avenue.
The City Parks Improvements Project affects park facilities and amenities citywide and includes:
• Replacement, renovation or expansion of Community Centers:
• Scheduled renovation of the Gaines Park Community Center,
• Scheduled replacement of the Howard Park Community Center,
• Scheduled expansion of the Coleman Park Community Center,
• Scheduled renovation of the Pleasant City Community Center.
• Renovated tennis courts;
• Repair of multi-purpose fields and basketball courts including lighting, surfacing, and fencing;
• Bathroom renovations;
• New playgrounds at Chillingworth, Howard, Gaines and Mary Brandon Parks, and ADA accessibility upgrades;
• New or renovated picnic pavilions;
• Dog park upgrades;
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument renovation;
• Centennial Fountain replacement.