Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced Friday that San Diego will open its outdoor playgrounds Saturday, becoming the latest city in the region to open playgrounds after they were shuttered in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city’s 289 playgrounds will open Saturday, joining 100 San Diego County playgrounds that opened Wednesday. Carlsbad opened its playgrounds Friday, with the exception of Hidden Canyon Park, which will open Oct. 12 after playground resurfacing repairs are complete.
Chula Vista also announced the city will begin opening its 50 playgrounds this weekend, beginning with the highest-use parks.
“We already encourage families and children to recreate outdoors at beaches and parks while taking safety precautions, so there’s no reason why we can’t reopen playgrounds the same safe and responsible way,” Faulconer said. “Along with other local leaders, we urged (Gov. Gavin Newsom) to deliver the proper guidance to make this a reality for our parents and children, and now that we can reopen, we’ll do it responsibly with safety front and center.”
Earlier this week, San Diego Parks and Recreation staff conducted site visits to all playgrounds to conduct capacity assessments and prepare the locations for social distancing and queuing markings.
San Diego County Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer said her department received guidance toward reopening outdoor playgrounds in parks, campgrounds and other publicly accessible locations Monday night from Newsom’s office. She added the county will also work with other cities on reopening their playgrounds as well.
Protocols for safe reopening include social distancing, all people 2 years old and older mandated to wear masks, no eating or drinking allowed in playgrounds and limiting time to 30 minutes while others are present.
— City News Service