SANTA MONICA : A Redesigned Lincoln Park Draws the Praise of Families

Lincoln Park, once known as a homeless encampment, is now attracting families eager to play and relax on its newly renovated grounds.

This week children clambered over bright new playground equipment, sunbathers lounged on the grass, basketball players competed on new courts and men and women strolled on the walkways outside the repainted senior center.

The park, which reopened two weeks ago, has been renovated and partially redesigned. During the nine-month, $520,000 renovation, the grassy area was expanded, a children’s playground was added and the basketball courts and shuffleboard and horseshoe areas were moved.

The city has staffed the park with half a dozen full-time employees, including park rangers, activity leaders and maintenance workers.

“It’s beautiful now,” said Kate O’Loughlin, as she watched her 3-year-old daughter, Erin, at the playground this week. “I was always afraid to come here before. You had to be on guard. Now, it’s easier to relax.”

Before the renovation, the 5.3-acre park had been home to dozens of transients. Residents said the grass was strewn with trash, the landscaping damaged and the restrooms filthy.

They frequently called police to complain about the homeless, reporting incidents of drug dealing and aggressive panhandling, police said.

“I wouldn’t even set foot in this park, then,” Santa Monica resident Risa Donegan said. Donegan, who says she visits many parks with her two children, added: Lincoln Park “is terrific. The fact that Santa Monica took the time and care to renovate it means a lot to everyone.”