So Close We Could Almost Play: The New Linda Beach Tot Lot

Our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group’s good luck with the weather continued last Wednesday. Rain was coming in that night, but once again it was just cloudy for our walk. There was large turnout of 52 walkers and four K-9 best friends at the Exedra for it.

It was also announced that for the following Wednesday’s walk, on Thanksgiving Eve, Matt G will lead the group on a stroll, not a run, of the Piedmont Turkey Tot 5K route.

Some walkers had read in the previous week’s issue of the Post that the new, redesigned Linda Beach Tot Lot had opened the Friday before. In February we had visited the old tot lot and had talked about the City’s “Linda Beach Tot Lot Equipment Replacement Project.” Now that the changes had been made, we wanted to see the new, improved version of the lot. Additionally, we could walk further up Linda Avenue and see some streets that we hadn’t walked this year.

We headed off going down Magnolia Avenue and stopped briefly to take a close look at the new Community Pool. It is beautiful, but we knew its opening had been delayed because of equipment issues. Walker and Post cartoonist Phil Witte calls it “the pool of the future.”

We continued on down Magnolia and took lower San Carlos Avenue to Oakland Avenue. We crossed Oakland and arrived at Howard Avenue and the edge of the Beach Playfield. it was uncertain if gate to the tot lot further up the path was open, so we went through the lower portion of the playfield to Linda Avenue.

We started walking up Linda to the tot lot’s gate, but soon saw a SIDEWALK CLOSED sign further up the street. When we got to the gate the sidewalk was torn up and a friendly worker told us the lot was closed because of the work. We were disappointed that we couldn’t go in for an inspection, but not as disappointed as one of the young people with her instructors from a pre-school class. This little lady let her displeasure be known in loud and uncertain terms for an extended period.

However, we were able to see the new tot lot through its gate and were not as upset. Some tot lot information was shared. The project cost $400,000, with 75% coming from the City’s Facilities Capital Fund, and the remaining 25% from a $100,000 donation from the Piedmont Beautification Foundation (PBF). The PBF has an extensive history of donating to the creation of play areas within every major park in the City of Piedmont, including Dracena, the Main Park, and Hampton Field.

The new design was shaped through months of outreach and surveys with parents, caregivers, and even young people who provided input on favorite features. The tot lot has new play equipment, a bright welcoming theme for its young users, swings, low climbing features sized for ages two to five, an enclosed layout, and classic ways to play like climbing and sliding. There are also interactive panels and balance elements that encourage imagination and movement. The new ADA compliant, rubber matting surface provides an additional safety feature and there’s a new water fountain. We couldn’t go inside, but there was room on the sidewalk for a group photo.

The morning was still young, so we continued up Linda, past Beach School, to and up the 900 block of Kingston Avenue. The street had been repaved this year and looked great. The walkers enjoyed the many old homes on the street that were built the 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. Some were once bungalows that have been nicely remodeled. A house at 934 Kingston had a 100 Year medallion on its front and a Zillow search showed it was built in 1907, just a year after Piedmont was incorporated. On this charming street there were also an attractive red orange trimmed house, a very old, large jade plant that had been shaped into a front yard hedge, and a padded piece of porch furniture on the car strip in front of a house. None of us took advantage of this last street amenity and we continued on.

We made our return to the Exedra going down Greenbank Avenue, across Grand Avenue to Cambridge Way, and then up Jerome Avenue to Oakland Avenue. We took the upper portion of San Carlos Avenue this time for our climb back up Magnolia and an on-time, noon return to the Exedra. The group agreed it was a good walk even if we didn’t get to go into the new Linda Beach Tot Lot. We know there will be another Wednesday when we can.