Nature Exploration Area is Here!
On Thursday, May 21st, we unveiled Phase 1 of the Cole Valley Town Square’s Nature Exploration Area at the Cole Valley Night Market. And despite the cloudy skies, the community showed up in full force.
Families explored the new logs and benches installed along the sidewalk adjacent to the Muni N-Line tracks, with kids climbing, playing, and doing exactly what a nature play space is meant to invite. We even hosted a wine and cheese happy hour for the 21+ crowd, offering a chance to connect with neighbors and celebrate the space coming to life.
What We’ve Heard
Community members were excited to see the space taking shape, and many shared enthusiasm for what comes next. Between Whatsapp groups, run club meetups, parents groups, merchant meetings, and block parties, we’ve been thrilled by the positive feedback received thus far. We recognize that enthusiasm for the project has been especially strong among younger residents and families, while some long-time residents have raised thoughtful concerns. We are committed to listening carefully, building common ground, and shaping a project that works for everyone. For example, we also saw a lively discussion on the Cole Valley Facebook group from neighbors sharing thoughts, questions, and concerns about the project. We hear you: community input is genuinely shaping this work!
We want to remind folks that all designs and concepts for the Cole Valley Town Square’s longer-term vision are draft and conceptual. These were informed by extensive feedback provided from survey results, emails to government officials, and in-person discussions. To be clear, nothing is finalized: your input continues to shape every phase of this project.
Built in Response to Your Feedback
This Nature Exploration Area didn't come out of nowhere. It was directly shaped by two consistent themes we’ve heard for over a year at our 2025 pop-ups and our information booths at the 2026 nightmarkets: a desire for more family-friendly programming and spaces, and a call to activate Richard Gamble Memorial Park itself. Given this feedback, we decided to proceed with enhancing an underutilized piece of land that did not have any direct impact on vehicle traffic, and to focus on a kid-forward playspace that can be enjoyed by everyone.
What's Next
Community engagement is ongoing, and we want to keep hearing from you. Here's what we're working toward:
Landscape engineering + surveywork: We’re working with local firm Sherwood Design Engineers to conduct a site analysis. This work consists of mapping slope and topography, as well as a hydrology and drainage analysis to inform the design of potential stormwater management.This work will be critical to shaping our long-term point of view of what’s feasible for the site.
Community Volunteer Day: We're working with the Mayor’s office on a local volunteer event to support Phase 2 of the Nature Exploration Area (replacing grass and weeds with mulch, adding log-lined pathways, and potentially incorporating new plantings), which would be in coordination with Mayor Lurie and First Lady Becca Prowda's citywide day of service -One City Day on Saturday, July 11. More details to come, but you can sign up now here.
Supervisor Mandelman: District 8 Supervisor Mandelman will be joining the Community Volunteer Day on July 11 so neighbors can share feedback directly with their elected representative.
As always, share your thoughts at colevalleytownsquare.com and sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop. This space belongs to the entire community, and we want to hear from you.
