The pictures here really don’t convey how sad this “children’s park” is. A lonely aging tiny wooden half-assed tower with a slide sitting next to a worn down tennis court does not a children’s park make. Admittedly there is grass that could serve a variety of purposes. But kids don’t play tennis and would likely be yelled at for entering the court much less riding their bikes or drawing on it with chalk or some other fun activity. So in the midst of this suburban tract of tiny to non-existent yards and endless roads where slowing down to 25 miles per hour is considered safe for children we have this amazing children’s park to satisfy the minds and adventures of childhood. Yay.

To the credit of this town in Southern California they have been adding an extensive trail system throughout the city and creating many pleasant and exciting areas entirely suitable for the imagination of children and enjoyment of adults alike. But when I see these remnants of a particular building and city planning mindset where a sense of community is actually squashed and isolation in your “investment” became common it breaks my heart. And as I travel around the country it is sad seeing how newer parts of cities often look like they are trying to become, what I hope at least, a failed experiment in California.