Complete the Baseball Field Pathway

Complete the pathway around the baseball fields:

• Conduct a feasibility and cost assessment to figure out how to do it and what it would cost
• Consider doing it as part of irrigation/drainage work already planned
• Prioritize it in Balboa Park budget planning

Finishing the pathway was the #2 priority in our 2025 Priorities survey (N=200), at over 63%.

• Walkers and runners want to complete the loop without going through mud or soggy grass.
• Parents with kids learning to ride bikes want a loop away from traffic, in the middle of the athletic fields, with visibility all the way around. Camp Mather's bike loop is a good example.

Loops increase physical activity: research found that parks with walking loops had 80% more users, and levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were 90% higher.

The reasons given for not doing it have changed over time

• It would trigger an ADA audit. The pathway could follow the route people already take, and there's no incline.
• There's no budget for it. We asked whether it could be part of the planned irrigation work in the baseball fields. The answer was no.
• It runs too close to the pitcher warm-up area. People already walk there, and there's plenty of room.
• Liability (we've been told this is the main issue). A pathway on the San Jose Ave side already runs along the baselines of two softball fields, mitigated with a half-fence. Minnie & Lovie Ward has a walking path all the way around its baseball fields. If the city can build Tunnel Tops, surely it can build a safe pathway around a field.