Mesa children have a new state-of-the-art accessible playground at Monterey Park, 7045 E. Monterey Ave. The City celebrated the completion of the first phase of the park expansion with a kid-filled grand opening ceremony featuring the Superstition Springs Elementary School Chorus.
“Mesa’s parks and recreation facilities are an incredible asset in our community, and the Monterey playground renovation is an excellent example,” said Mesa Mayor John Giles. “I appreciate the many people who have contributed to making this phase of the project a reality, and I look forward to the completion of the additional fields and other amenities.”
The new playground, opening a day before the winter school break, will provide fun for children of all abilities. Some of its unique ADA-compliant features include:
- Quantis is a netplay structure with a slide, climbing ropes, disc swings and social features for kids to hand out and socialize. Designed for five to 12-year-olds, it is the second such structure ever installed! It includes two ADA transfer stations kids can use to pull themselves up onto it.
- Playbooster is for two to five-year-olds. It has an umbrella, roller slide, storefront and tic tac toe. It also has a seek and find animal track panel with hidden medallions around the equipment.
- Two bucket swings for toddlers and six belt swings for older kids
- Spinners, a cozy dome for kids who need to take a break from playing or are overstimulated and sand diggers and fossils in the sand play area
Mesa sought community input for the playground design through social media, the City’s website and flyers mailed to nearly 45-hundred Mesa homes. An online virtual meeting and subsequent open comment period produced more than 130 responses.
“It was very important to get residents’ feedback about what they wanted the Monterey Park playground to look like, and those comments were incorporated into the final design. I’m happy to say it was a very successful process and demonstrated a high level of community interest in the park,” said District 6 Councilmember Kevin Thompson.
Plans to nearly double the size of Monterey Park are under design. Construction is expected to start next fall and be completed by fall 2023. The park expansion will include youth diamond fields, four pickleball courts, a small tot lot, two restroom buildings, a mini library and improved access to and from Power Road.
“I appreciate the great effort and genuine care that Parks and Recreation puts into our parks, playgrounds, public facilities and recreational programs. Monterey Park is a great example of how our City of Mesa pays attention to our community needs and responds, providing the absolute best for our Mesa residents,” said Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair Nycole Leyba. “This is why it is so important to always take part in surveys and respond to requests for feedback, so that we can provide a great future for our youth! I am excited to see the next phase of Monterey Park.”
Funding for the playground improvements was from the 2018 Parks Bond approved by voters and infrastructure funds. The Monterey Park expansion will be paid for by the 2018 Parks Bond and Library funding.
