New documents were filed by San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department for the renovation and improvement of several community baseball fields located at 799 Moscow Street. The fields are part of the Crocker Amazon park’s athletic complex, adjoining the John MacLaren Park in the Crocker-Amazon neighborhood of Southeastern San Francisco.
The proposed plans would involve a full redevelopment of the area, including five existing baseball facilities. A new configuration of the diamonds would allow for a total of six new fields on the park site. This would include three youth fields and three adult fields. All three youth fields are planned with synthetic turf and electric lighting to maximize their usage and minimize maintenance challenges. Two of the adult fields will also be planned with synthetic turf and lighting. One of the two will also be supported by bleachers for potential viewers of the games. The final adult field will remain natural grass. Its outfield will also be unbound by a fence, allowing the field to be used casually and for other purposes.
Verde Designs is responsible for the plan and layout of the park’s redevelopment. In addition to the main fields. Their plans include a full landscaping of the affected area, with new paved pathways, gardens, and fitness areas. The new development will also include a new community plaza, dog parks, and supporting facilities. The current hardcourts and athletic facilities directly alongside Moscow Avenue are to remain with little modification.
The site is located directly at the corner of Moscow Street and Geneva Avenue. This position gives it easy access by private vehicle or Muni bus options. The development plan will include a redesign and paving of the site’s parking lot to support park patrons’ transportation needs.
Crocker Amazon Park Current Layout, image via ArcGIS Online
Crocker Amazon Site Location, image via ArcGIS Online
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What is not stated is that a bunch of mature trees will be clearcut to install PFAS-leaching plastic ballfields enclosed within chainlink fencing. It is going to be hideous and it will displace tons of birds. For those of you not from this region, Crocker-Amazon Playground is a really sweet, bucolic spot in teh middle of a largely low-income residential area without much usuable open space.
Bucolic? Most of the site is well within eye and earshot of a busy 5 lane stroad.
I have spent countless hours as a parent spectator at my kid’s soccer games. Trust me, it is a very special place.
Well, I guess I should be thankful they aren’t proposing luxury condos for the park. Yet.
Didn’t even both addressing your own point. This plan doesn’t take anything away from recreation – it literally adds an additional baseball field so more people can enjoy it. And it doesn’t even touch the existing (artificial turf) soccer fields. So apparently turf fields are bad, except when your kids play of them? And more baseball fields are bad because they’re turf, which is somehow okay for soccer? Just a laughably incoherent position.
Might as well pave it and turn it into a parking lot.
Yes, a paved over parking lot is definitely the same as new and expanded fields with new trees and more opportunities for recreation. I swear to ****ing god with you people…
So you want to cut down existing trees to replace them with “new trees”? Make it make sense.
Remove trees that help with climate change and resiliency and instead put in fake plastic grass that gives off methane, microplastics, has to be watered to maintain the fake grass even as it can hurt beneficial insects (endocrine disruptors), reducing soil below’s ability to absorb storm water. So sad that YIMBY only sees development and not how to protect the planet.
Most YIMBYs are single-minded zealots. Nothing matters apart from development. Full stop. Planet be damned.
So let me get this straight—Scott McWiener is totally fine with his own child playing soccer on turf at Crocker Amazon, but when it comes to baseball families, suddenly turf is off-limits? That’s some impressive turf logic! Maybe the grass really is greener on the other side… or at least, it’s more exclusive!
What the heck are you talking about? The soccer fields are grass, as are the baseball fields currently. This has nothing to do with the sport, but the material. My kid has played on artificial turf, and the rubber tires that underlay it crumble, depositing all sorts of crud into the water and soil. I also don’t support cutting down mature trees to cram in more fields.
The soccer fields are not grass. Crocker Amazon needs an update. I’m not a fan of plastic turf but it’s a terrible look for this part of town to have such a crumbling facility.