Local dignitaries and members of the community gathered on Thursday morning for the groundbreaking ceremony of the David March Park expansion on North Via Joyce Drive in Saugus.
Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth welcomed guests to the large open dirt lot that will soon become a play area haven for people of all ages, offering more amenities for residents to enjoy.
Part of the city’s Santa Clarita 2025 Strategic Plan is to improve community recreational spaces, including David March Park. Eight acres will be added to its expansion, said Smyth, and there will also be upgrades, enhancements and additions to the site.
“Originally built in 2003 by the county of Los Angeles, the park was transferred to the city in 2016. This expansion will not only develop the land behind me, but it will also enhance the existing amenities at the current park site,” Smyth said.
Renderings of the future expansion were on display for guests to look through and see how the park will look with its future new additions.
Additions to the park are to include a state-of-the-art baseball field with shaded spectator stands, a brand-new basketball court with sport court lighting, shade canopies over the existing playground, a picnic pavilion and much more, states the city’s website.
After much success with the popular Central Park staircase, David March Park will also feature the city’s second exercise staircase, with 116 steps leading up to the ridgeline where parkgoers will be met with scenic views of the valley’s hills.
Throughout the groundbreaking ceremony, Smyth also reminded the audience of the importance of the park and its historical significance.
Named after Deputy David March, the park “stands as a tribute to his courage and his sacrifice and serves as a reminder of how this community supports and loves our first responders,” he said.
March was a Santa Clarita Valley resident, Canyon High School graduate, and was killed in the line of duty during a routine traffic stop in Irwindale in 2002.
Linda Storli, William S. Hart Union High School District governing board president and former teacher of March, was in attendance. She remembered March as “sweet and kind” and “he would help anybody in the class,” she said. “He was just an amazing young man, great student, and wonderful person.”
Storli is excited about the park’s expansion because she always wished that park was built closer to the street, she said. The current site is further into the hills, and hides behind large shaded trees.
“It’s going to be absolutely beautiful,” she said.
