July | 9 of 10
Saturday, July 29, 2023
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-Zack Cinek
City gov’t
East Commercial Street Corridor
For Willits kids who went to bat for Little League teams in the early 90s, the playing fields have changed since those days when H.W. Bush was in the White House.
Brooktrails par course had a functioning baseball diamond. Brookside Elementary School had another two, one on each end of the school’s grassy field. It was the town’s football field before that, I have been told.
Commercial Street ball fields were all on the southside of the street. You had old Lofling Field where the carnival sets up now and the others were much like they are today.
Willits High School had its main field and another small field dedicated to softball or Little League users.
As you know, the city’s new planning effort brings forth many opportunities for the East Commercial Street Corridor.
The city’s study looked at parks, the library, county museum, traffic, walkability, health, lighting and the entire built landscape, really.
Willits’ city-owned ball fields were assessed for improvements and potential modifications.
The study also covers the skate park, dog park and new additions such as frisbee golf and an additional playground.
STUDY:
Retrofit the existing bathroom structure to accommodate increased needs.
Add a playground between the existing ball fields for families between games or handling multiple children at sports events.
Install the proposed disc golf course to increase year-round visitation to the park.
Install pickleball courts to increase opportunities for multi-generational activity.
Develop a community garden to take advantage of the ample sun in the park.
Create improved gathering spaces for families during sports events.
Explore adding a pump track to the park to complement the existing skatepark.
Explore converting the North baseball field to soccer while taking the following interventions to meet baseball capacity:
The study suggested that the area used by the carnival, the old Lofling Field, could be upgraded into another baseball field.
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