For this week’s issue I worked on a story about a subject dear to my heart: parks! I grew up in Fremont walking distance from Lake Elizabeth. This is a man-made lake and has been part of Fremont since 1969—so slightly older than me. It seemed like an immutable feature of the landscape, but even I remember changes: A golf course replaced the undeveloped field, still with a walking path allowing access from my neighborhood. For a while half the lake was drained to allow the BART tunnel to pass underneath.
Many times when I was in high school I walked out to the lake to watch the sunset because the area gave an unrestricted view looking west and a beautiful reflection on the water. I didn’t think about how lucky I was to have this option; the lake was just part of the way things were. Now I’m more aware that parks are a tribute not only to the natural landscape but to the human spirit. Without the forward-thinking Fremonters of the 1960s, Gomes Park might be the only bit of green between Mission Boulevard and Paseo Padre Parkway.
Now I live in San Jose, and when I was house hunting one thought dominated my mind: Must Have Park. Some people can’t imagine living without a backyard or a garden; I felt the same way about having an open space to walk to (preferably with water!). Luckily my husband was on board, since he grew up near Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy. Sure enough, we ended up with a place well within a 10-minute walk from a park.
Still, I think San Jose can up its ParkScore. We’re at #41 among the most populous U.S. cities on Trust for Public Land’s rankings, three spots behind Fremont at #38. In San Jose, 71% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Newark and Union City aren’t in the top 100 for population levels, but are still searchable on the site. In Newark 71% of residents live within that 10-minute / half-mile radius, and in Union City 92% of residents can say the same.
However, with a new park planned for the Mission San Jose district, Fremont is looking to jump ahead in the rankings for 2026. I want to tell San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan that South Bay is falling behind.
Let’s be proud of our parks, while emulating the forward-thinking Bay Areans who came before us by caring for and even improving the parks we have, while looking around and thinking about where a new park could be.
