Gridley Park Gets a Safe and Modern Facelift

The lit-up faces of playing children were enough of a reason to give  in Cerritos a modern makeover. With two new play structures and a swing set, provided by GameTime, the project’s completion was officially celebrated by a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 14.

Oversized scissors at hand, Mayor Carol Chen, led the ceremony at the park located on Gridley Road at Yearling Circle with her fellow councilmembers at her side. Behind them, stood brand new playground equipment with bright blue slides, and a unique mini rock climbing wall. Providing a modern touch of safety was the new rubberized flooring under each structure – a springy addition in place of the age old sandscapes. According to Chen, these improvements are an ongoing project.

“This is just another way of giving the community the necessary tools for the children to have a healthy, outdoors and playful activity,” Chen said. “

Gridley Park regular, Gilbert Angeles, was also present at the ceremony. Angeles meets with his friends every Sunday to play basketball on the other side of the park.

“I like the fact that they made it much safer the kids living in Cerritos to enjoy their experience and to lessen the impact of getting hurt,” Angeles said. “Since I play basketball there, I would definitely want a water fountain right next to the basketball courts.  If they could put in a water fountain or two, that’d be great.”

Showing much interest in park improvements as well as maintaining Cerritos’ “tree city” status during campaign season, Councilmember Mark Pulido is excited for the upcoming improvements to Cerritos Park East’s playground.

“As we can continue to do this throughout our neighborhood parks in the city of Cerritos, I’m going to continue to support those efforts,” Pulido said. “This is part of what resident have been calling for, especially parents with small children who would like to see the wonderful parks that we have maintained and kept in good, plain condition.”