On Thursday, June 18, the north side of Dolores Park will be hosting a silent disco party to celebrate its reopening after years under construction.
“The date has been set, the flowers are in, the grass is down, the cement is set and we are ready! Thursday, June 18 the ‘all -spiffed -up’ North half of Dolores will be turned over to the people and yes Lord we are ready,” wrote Dolores Park Works co-founder Robert Brust in a blog post Monday.
The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department is organizing the silent disco party, taking place from 3 till 7 p.m. on Thursday the 18th, to kick off the re-opening, with headphones available for free by emailing rpdinfo@sfgov.org. They also advertise a new website for the park, though it is currently under construction and instructs visitors to “Please continue to love Dolores.”
The $20 million Dolores Park renovation has run into considerable trouble over the years, from months-long delays to a $100,000 joyride by “two idiots” that damaged some sod turf and drainage infrastructure.
Additionally, trash accumulation has been a major concern owing to the popularity of the park: More than 7,000 gallons of trash are generated at the park every weekend, 65 percent of which could be recycled or composted.
And though Recology set up a recycling center in April to deal with the trash issue, the fact that the south side of the park will be undergoing renovation after the north side reopens makes Dolores Park Works co-founder Brust concerned about the persistent trash problem.
“It’s going to be a bit of a learning curve,” he said by phone. “They’re switching over right before Pride week, right before Fourth of July — it’s all coming up, and I heard that they were worried about this [trash problem].”
Brust added that there’s a program to have ambassadors in the park ensuring people know about the new Recology recycling station and that he hoped that would help.
Despite the possibility of future headaches, project manager Jacob Gilchrist is excited about the end of this phase and looking forward to the party.
“It is great to be at this moment in the project,” he wrote in an email to the press. “I hope to see you at the park on the 18th so we can celebrate our hard work together.”
The north side of the park will feature new restrooms, renovated tennis and basketball courts, new pathways, improved ADA access, and more.
