Fanuel Park playground removed, deemed unsafe. Will it be rebuilt?

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- What’s next for a popular Pacific Beach park along Mission Bay after the playground was town down?

The playground at Fanuel Park was blocked and boarded up on August 13 after the city deemed it was unsafe because of substantial corrosion and deterioration.

Fanuel Park has been a place families have enjoyed for years.

Along the beachfront there's water access, a popular trail to walk, run, ride your bikes, walk your dogs, roller blade, etc. The major win for families has been the large playground and swing set situated on the sand, with a view of Mission Bay.

After the playground was blocked off for safety reasons, many families said it was difficult to explain to their kids why they couldn’t go on it.

In October, the playground was torn down. Leaving swings and climbable seals in the nearly empty sandbox. Families and neighbors have donated toys to keep in the area for kids to play with.

But now families are wondering when the playground will come back?

“We used to come here almost every day, but he’s a big climber so I feel like we can’t come here as often,” Ally Baker said, talking about one of her sons. Now she’s opted to walk 2 miles round trip to Santa Clara Point Playground so her sons can have a place to climb and play. But at 30 weeks pregnant, she said it’s not as easy to walk there, and wishes the playground at Fanuel Park would be rebuilt.

She said she’s made several Get It Done requests and contacted her local representatives.

FOX 5/KUSI also contacted the City of San Diego, which said they do not yet have a timeline on when and how the playground will be rebuilt at Fanuel Park.

The City said in a statement:

"The Fanuel Street Park playground was deemed unsafe and unusable due to substantial corrosion and deterioration of the play structures and footings, leading to its closure on Aug. 13, 2024. In order to restore access to the playground area as soon as possible, the Parks and Recreation Department has begun implementing a short-term solution to reopen public access to the sand area. On Monday, Oct. 21, the fencing and obsolete structures were removed, and the public can now use the sand area.

Parks and Recreation Department staff will work to install small spring toys in the open sand area. This work is expected to take approximately three months to complete.

In the long-term, a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project will need to be initiated to replace and improve the playground, however, funding will need to be identified and allocated to a new CIP project at this location."