CALABASAS : Recreational Park to Be Improved

The California Transportation Commission has allocated $240,000 for improving the Calabasas Creek Roadside Recreational Park east of the Leonis Adobe along the Ventura Freeway, Caltrans officials said Monday.

The park is a mostly undeveloped two-acre site near Valley Circle Boulevard, where Caltrans plans to begin a $17-million interchange reconstruction project in June.

The park enhancement funds are provided under legislation designed to pay for projects that reduce negative environmental effects caused by new transportation projects.

The Leonis Adobe Assn. is committed to spending more than $2.5 million on the park restoration project, according to a Caltrans news release.

The new park, which will be enclosed on the north and east by a 12-foot sound wall, will be equipped with tables, benches and play structures and a bridge to nearby walking paths, the release said.

Several oak trees that will be displaced by the freeway-widening project will be replanted at the park, and the Leonis Adobe Assn. plans to build a replica of the original 1869 Calabasas jailhouse at the park, the news release said.