WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — One West Valley City resident says he has been waiting nearly 26 years for a park to be built in his neighborhood.
Resident Art Fracchia said the empty lot at the corner of 3100 South 6130 West was donated by a home builder for a community park when he first moved into the neighborhood.
But Fracchia says not much has changed since then. “My kids have grown up here. They’ve moved away, but now I have my grandkids here,” Fracchia said. “Our kids have nowhere to go.”
He said the neighborhood has plenty of kids, but nowhere close by for them to play.
Earlier this month, FOX 13 News reported how West Valley City’s Community Development Block Grant program is fixing up parks in low-to-moderate income communities. Then, Fracchia reached out to us.
“And to hear they keep renovating existing parks and replacing that equipment… give some of that equipment here,” he explained. “It almost feels like they’ve just put us to the side.”
Fracchia said the city has told residents to use the playground at West Valley Elementary across the street. However, he says he worries about safety because families need to cross a major road to get to the park. "Our kids still have nothing, our grandkids have nothing, we have an eye sore as you can see,” he said.
He also showed FOX 13 News emails with the city, including one from October 2020 that said officials had “somewhat settled on creating an informal landscaped area with a few benches and some landscaping” and hoped to finish it within one to two years.
The city, in a recent statement sent to FOX 13 News, said:
“The West Valley City Parks Department is currently developing a General Parks Plan, expected to be completed later this summer. The proposed pocket park at 3100 South and 6135 West is included in the plan, and funding timelines will be determined following the plan’s completion.”
Roberto Cabral, who lives across the street from the lot, said the overgrown grass can also become a safety issue. “It affects me when the grass grows high, and they take forever to come and mow it,” Cabral said. “A fire can start and affect houses around here.”
As for Art, he just hopes someday his grandkids will get to enjoy the green space one day. “We just want a little area that we can call our own,” he said.
