Located between Morro Rock and the Embarcadero, Coleman Park has been closed since March but will soon reopen.
“Pretty quick build, 55 working days and the goal was to get done before Memorial Day,” said Nate Stong, Morro Bay city engineer.
Restrooms have not been available at the park since 2022.
“We usually drive over there to the restaurants or to the rock, and yeah, use the bathroom over there,” said Diana Tabarez of Morro Bay.
That is also changing as pre-manufactured restrooms arrived last week, but Stong says they won’t be in use right away as PG&E still has some work to do.
“Make sure that things are in place to energize the system, and once they’ve determined that it’s ready, they can schedule their work," Stong said. "So, we don’t know what the schedule is yet, but we’re hopeful it’ll be soon.”
Michele Mignone lives in Los Osos but walks along the path near the park with her dog, Sunny, about once a week.
“Yeah, I think it’s a wonderful addition. It’s very nice for the community and for the locals to be able to enjoy that. Yeah, it’s great,” Mignone said.
Tabarez has three children and meets up with other moms at different local parks. She said she’s looking forward to having another option.
“I love how simple it is, so we can also enjoy the nature, swing a little bit, and keep walking,” Tabarez said.
Stong said the project’s first phase includes improvements to the playground, kayak wash station, bike racks, and picnic area. The total cost was around $1.4 million, with about half coming from grant funding.
More improvements are to come with the Waterfront Masterplan.
“There’s the basketball courts and the parking lot behind me, and there are other areas along the waterfront that are in the process of being designed on a masterplan level with input from the community,” Stong said.
The park is expected to open on Friday.
