Officials play around with new look for Mae Boyer Park

PARK PLACE—Instead of an eagle on the ground, as shown above at Oak Park’s Eagle View ParkMae Boyer Park will have a giant gecko as part of its new look. The Simi Valley Recreation and Park District Board of Directors voted unanimously at their meeting earlier this month in Oak Park to update the playground equipment at Mae Boyar Park on Kanan Road.

District officials said the facelift at the six-acre park is being done to meet new safety standards and make the playground more accessible to the handicapped.

Built in the late 1970s, the park is used heavily by local residents. Upgrades to the current play equipment, which was installed in 1988, will cost about $220,000, according to district officials.

“We try to build the playgrounds here and in Simi as economically as we possibly can,” said Ed Hayduk, Rancho Simi assistant general manager.

District officials hope to start the three-month construction in late September. To meet safety requirementsHayduk said the district will replace the playground equipmenon both the pre-teen and toddlelots. In addition, the play equipmenwill be moved 30 feet to make room for rubber matting that is required beneath the toddler play area. The multi-color rubber mawill feature a giant, orange geckoMae Boyar Park also has tennis courts, a recreation buildinghorseshoe pits and a picnic areaThe district recently completed similar upgrades at Eagle View Park in Oak Park, where the sand beneath the new play equipmenwas replaced with a rubber mat inlaid with a giant eagle. Eagle View, a 3.7-acre park, also has basketball courts, bike paths, a trail system and a picnic area.