A Great Park and an Airport?
SAN DIEGO’S BALBOA PARK IS A MODEL OF WHAT COULD BE AT THE former El Toro Marine base if backers of a park initiative have their way.
Indeed, Balboa Park is one of San Diego’s jewels: 1,400 acres in the heart of downtown that feature a world-class zoo, The Old Globe Theatre, museums and some great Spanish colonial architecture.
On a recent visit to San Diego, I visited Balboa Park with my family. We were taken aback by what a great place it is, not unlike New York’s Central Park. With a 2-year-old son, though, most of my time was spent at a kid’s playground near the entrance of the park.
As I watched my son play, I couldn’t help but notice what was going on overhead. Every few minutes or so, jets flew directly over Balboa Park on their way to nearby San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field. The planes came so close you could read every airline logo, from Southwest Airlines and AeroMexico to United and U.S. Airways.
The park was packed that day. But as I looked around, I was the only one taking notice of the aerial parade going on. Kids were playing without a care, and a nearby birthday party was in full force, undisturbed by the landings, which, while unobtrusive, were distinctly audible.
For locals, I gathered, a park next to an airport is no big deal. In fact, it seemed somehow fitting for a great metropolitan park, like the downtown skyscrapers visible from Balboa.
That begs the question: can’t El Toro house both an airport and a great park? At more than three times the acreage of Balboa Park, it’s certainly physically possible for the two to co-exist at El Toro.
But that’s not really the issue. Opponents don’t want to see an El Toro airport, period. But in terms of economic impact and public benefit, countering an airport isn’t so easy. Thus the Great Park. Who doesn’t love a park?
For now, backers of the El Toro park initiative are regrouping after a Superior Court judge threw out a ballot title and summary drawn up for the proposed Orange County Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative. Supporters are appealing.
But does Orange County,or, more precisely, South County,need up to 4,700 acres of new parkland? OC already counts more than 85,000 acres of parks and open space with the vast majority of that in South County.
North County, the closest thing to an urban center in OC, counts about 8,000 acres of parks and open space. South County, meanwhile, has more than 78,000 acres.
True, OC doesn’t count anything as grand as Balboa or Central parks, with their zoos and museums. But even Central Park takes up only 843 acres. Turning most of El Toro’s 4,700 acres into a park seems a bit much.
