California Department of Transportation
08/27/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/27/2024 16:34
Caltrans Completes Renovation of Winton’s Only Community Park
Caltrans Completes Renovation of Winton's Only Community Park
Published: Aug 27, 2024
State of California • Department of Transportation
NEWS RELEASE
WINTON, CA
Caltrans Completes Renovation of Winton's Only Community Park
The $3.7 Million Project Was Funded by the Clean California Initiative
Winton, CA - Caltrans announced today the completion of a $3.7 million renovation to Winton's 21½ acre, 52-year-old community park in Merced County. This includes featuring a new one-mile-long walking path; the restoration of the soccer and baseball field that includes four new baseball dugouts and lighting for the basketball court; a new playground; two new picnic shelters; 60 graffiti-resistant picnic tables; 20 new trees with water-efficient irrigation; and a public art project showcasing 12 iron benches designed and fabricated by Winton High School students.
These improvements were made possible through Governor Gavin Newsom's Clean California initiative - a sweeping, $1.2 billion, multiyear clean-up effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs, and join with communities throughout the state to reclaim, transform, and beautify public spaces and help keep them that way.
"We are grateful to our community partners who helped make this project possible, along with the numerous Winton High school students whose efforts were instrumental to improvements at the park," said Caroline Reyes, Caltrans District 10 Deputy District Director of Project Development and Construction. "Caltrans applauds their great vision and hard work to make a lasting positive impact in the community."
Located at Olive Avenue and Winton Way, Winton Community Park was built in 1972 and is the community's only park.
In addition to the Clean California grant, Merced County invested $455,590 in California Proposition 68 funding to improve the Winton Community Park's restroom and concession facilities. The project is one of 312 Clean California projects beautifying communities throughout the state.
Since launching Clean California in July 2021, Caltrans and its local partners have picked up more than 2.6 million cubic yards of litter - enough to cover nine lanes of Interstate 5 with an inch of trash from San Diego to the Canadian border. This substantially increased the department's previous trash collection efforts and can largely be attributed to Clean California, along with other Caltrans litter removal efforts. Caltrans has hosted more than 600 free dump days in communities throughout the state - resulting in the collection of 14,000-plus mattresses and 52,000 tires. The initiative has enlisted more than 60,000 community clean-up volunteers and created 18,267 jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated, on probation, or experiencing housing insecurity.
For more information about the Clean California initiative, visit CleanCA.com and to learn more about transportation and other infrastructure projects funded with state and federal investments, visit RebuildingCA.ca.gov and Build.ca.gov.
Caltrans also reminds motorists to #KnowBeforeYouGo by checking quickmap.dot.ca.gov for real-time highway conditions prior to travel.
Motorists should expect 5-to-10-minute delays and use alternate routes whenever possible. This work is scheduled to occur as listed but is subject to change due to traffic incidents, weather, availability of equipment/materials, and construction-related issues.
For the safety of workers and other motorists, please Be Work Zone Alert. For the latest highway conditions, visit quickmap.dot.ca.gov