MISSION VIEJO : Long-Awaited City Parks Done at Last

Long-awaited construction has been completed at two city parks.

Once empty fields, Flamenco and Pinecrest parks were unveiled with playgrounds, landscaping and walkways.

“Flamenco residents in particular have been waiting a long time,” said Kelly Doyle, city recreation director. “Some of those people have been there 10 years, waiting for a park to be built on this site.”

The city spent $670,000 to build the parks and invested a lot of time sitting down with residents to discuss park design.

“It started with a blank sheet of paper,” Doyle said. “We went to the residents and asked them what they wanted in their community park.”

The planning for both parks started about two years ago and construction began during the summer. Flamenco Park is about four acres and Pinecrest about six acres.

Another major construction project, the landscaping of the Santa Margarita Parkway median, was also completed recently.

The $190,000 project added drought-resistant trees, shrubs and bushes to the bare ground that existed in many sections of the major roadway. Contractors also installed new automatic sprinklers to prevent water runoff.

The median was improved for a distance of almost three miles, from Pinecrest Road to the Lake Forest/Mission Viejo city limit.