City parks advocacy group kicks off first in series of gatherings, aiming for basic improvements

A group of Palm Springs residents taking a hands-on approach to improving the city’s parks met with community members and city staff Wednesday at Sunrise Park to identify issues and advocate for better maintenance and safety.

While city officials are working on a long-term vision for parks through a master plan update, People for Palm Springs Parks — formed in September 2023 — is focused on addressing basic concerns like cleanliness, bathroom accessibility, and outdated playground equipment while pushing for increased funding for park improvements.

“The parks have looked the same for 30 years now,” said Kelly McLean, one of the group’s founding members, prior to the group leading a walk through Sunrise Park in the center of the city. “The city has invested significantly in Demuth Park and Victoria Park. So there’s been some major improvements. But what we find as frequent park users is that just the maintenance, the cleanliness needs addressing, and that is such low hanging fruit.”

The group, consisting of four board members – McLean, Jana FitzGerald, Katherine Hatch, and David Feltman – organized Wednesday’s walk-through to highlight concerns directly to city officials. It was attended by Parks and Recreation Director Nick Gonzalez and other city staff, who — like they did when concerns about the city dog parks were aired — used the moment to listen and learn.

“We hope to get some feedback and attention to the issues we are concerned about and to then bring those concerns to City Council in time for their budget,” McLean said. “We are hoping to get more funding to support Nick. He has some great ideas.”

FitzGerald pointed to basic maintenance issues that affected families using the parks.

“At Demuth Park every weekend there’s no soap in the bathroom,” FitzGerald said. “You can wash your hands in the bathroom, but there is no soap anywhere. So I bring my own soap now.”

The group noted that many parks in Palm Springs had remained largely unchanged since the 1980s, with some even losing amenities over time.

“Ruth Hardy Park used to have water play,” FitzGerald said, highlighting how some features had disappeared rather than been improved.

The advocates emphasized that their efforts are not about simply airing grievances, but rather working collaboratively with the city to improve public spaces.

“This is not about complaining. It’s more so like, let’s walk the park, let’s be proactive,” McLean said.

A key concern for the group is the lack of transparency in how maintenance issues were addressed, even taking steps to engage with maintenance workers to get a better understanding of that they might be up against.

“Every time I see a maintenance person in the park, I flag them down and I say, what’s your schedule? When are you here?” FitzGerald said. “I actually looked through the city records and found a contract with … one of the cleaning companies, but it was years and years ago, so I couldn’t find a current city contract for maintenance.”

Group members also point to changing demographics in Palm Springs as a reason for updating park amenities.

“When I was growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, there weren’t a lot of families here. And that’s really changed,” FitzGerald said. “There are so many lovely and wonderful families here, and I think we’re seeing more representation in the City Council of that. But the public spaces haven’t caught up with the change in population.”

The advocates also highlighted the need for parks that accommodated users of all ages and abilities.

“Every kid is different,” FitzGerald said. “A park that only has a structure for 5 to 12-year-olds who were totally able to use it isn’t necessarily going to work for everybody.”

Weather considerations were another major concern, with many older playground structures becoming unusable during hot months.

“A lot of the older structures, you can’t really use them in the warm months because the structures were not built for the heat,” Hatch said. “For all these families that can’t drive to Palm Desert to get some relief, they can’t use the local parks. And Palm Springs really has the most families out of all the desert cities.”

Gonzalez, who joined the walking tour of the park, welcomed the feedback.

“I wanted to build community engagement here and put a face on it, let them know that I am available and accessible,” Gonzalez said. “That’s why it’s important for me to build engagement here.”

The group plans to continue advocating for improvements and hoped to present their concerns to the city council in time for budget considerations.

“We wanted to support him and he needed more resources,” McLean said of Gonzalez. “They’re pretty basic, you know — cleanliness, security, usability, safety, water.”

With Wednesday’s initial event well-received by participants, FitzGerald said the group will try to meet monthly — weather permitting — to not only lead walks and identify issues but possibly to help clean them as well.

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