A family donated the land for Trancas Park to the City of Malibu in memory of their son who was killed in Vietnam. The land is big enough to have a multiuse sports field, playground and a much needed dog park.
After three public workshops, hundreds of letters, thousands of signatures, and more than a dozen speeches at commission meetings, the people are not getting what they want. This past Thursday, the Parks and Recreation Commission voted to not limit the use of the sports field at Trancas Park for practice only. In other words, the commission effectively has delayed and perhaps shutdown the park development because it does not have a regulation size sports field. Trancas Park, unlike Bluffs Park, is in the center of a residential neighborhood in Western Malibu. For years, the residents have been trying to get the park built. Most residents are opposed to games being played due to the noise and traffic.
The people have said they want a park. I don’t understand why the commission insists that there must be games played at this park. With Bluffs Park and the fields at Webster and Malibu High, it seems like there are enough fields. In the four years that my children have been playing organized sports, I have never had to leave Malibu for a game unless our team made it to the playoffs and the opponent was from out of the area.
I’d like to know how many people there are in Malibu who don’t play sports, but have dogs and young children? How many of these people just want a park? On the weekends, all the fields and parks are occupied with games, inundated with people, traffic and the risk of getting whacked by a ball. The city already has the land, the design and it would only cost $3 million. Many more millions would be required to purchase land and relocate the park.
The commission should be ashamed of themselves. They are supposed to be the conduit from the public to the City Council. The public has spoken, but only one of the Parks and Recreation Commissioners seems to have listened.
Justine Petretti