Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Costs to update The Wave in Vista come under scrutiny

How many poor people use it? Are there enough gender-neutral locker rooms?

The Wave, 30 years old, gets about 100,000 annual visitors.
The Wave, 30 years old, gets about 100,000 annual visitors.

The Wave, San Diego County's first municipal water park, opened in Vista in 1994. Over the years, the costs to maintain it have ballooned. An assessment finds it will take somewhere between $6,100,000 and $16,800,000 to modernize the five-acre park fully.

Renovation of the facilities, which include a pool, water slides, the FlowRider wave simulator and a lazy river, would take four months to a year.

Water slides are now classified by Cal/OSHA as an amusement ride, forcing annual safety inspections.


As part of Vista's parks master plan, the city is deciding what needs to go and where improvements can be made.

"I look at the Wave as this huge opportunity," said Deputy Mayor Katie Melendez at a recent workshop on the park's needs. Several people have approached her about having evening events for adults at the Wave, she said. New vendors and more programming could help make it a more vibrant space.

The assessment found that 49 percent of Vista residents live within a ten-minute walk of a park, just below the national median of 55 percent.

The FlowRider wave simulator was one of the first installed in the U.S.


The Wave gets about 100,000 annual visitors, according to city staff. But keeping the aging park up to date won't be cheap.

Over the next four-five months the city will conduct surveys to find out what the community wants, undertake a program assessment, plan development, and mapping to see who benefits. 

The assessment so far, conducted by planning firm Next Practice Partners, gave the Wave a "good" rating, despite its disrepair.

Sponsored
Sponsored
The city can't use park funds to repair or replace the pool deck.


Planners said the park is known for having the world's first Flow Rider, and has been a model for others in the southwest. The city has done a good job maintaining it over the years — but now it needs "a significant capital investment."

Major renovations are needed to keep it safe and operable. The report found a mix of code requirements and violations, safety and maintenance concerns, and outdated standards, such as a lack of gender-neutral locker rooms.

What shows the most wear is the pool deck, particularly the lower deck. Several previous renovations have been done, including the water tower in recent years, but areas are in need of refurbishing.

The FlowRider, being one of the first installed in the U.S., with many of its original components, is costly to operate. Estimates for its repair or replacement range from $250,000 to $4 million.

Since the park was built 30 years ago, water slides are now classified by Cal/OSHA as an amusement ride, necessitating annual safety inspections.

City manager John Conley said the city hasn't budgeted to match the level of deterioration of some of the Wave's facilities. The city can't use park funds to repair or replace items.

Earlier this year, he said, the council approved a maintenance program, and will be relying on redevelopment funding for several maintenance projects.

"Some of the Wave improvements are in there. Some of them are not."

The Wave will be brought back to the city at the beginning of next year, to decide if it should be maintained as is, or more fully renovated.


The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A rope course designed to resemble the Giant Dipper at Belmont Part

Maruta Gardner Playground - a parent's playground
Next Article

Pronto payments cause confusion

Did MTS stumble with new technology rollout?
The Wave, 30 years old, gets about 100,000 annual visitors.
The Wave, 30 years old, gets about 100,000 annual visitors.

The Wave, San Diego County's first municipal water park, opened in Vista in 1994. Over the years, the costs to maintain it have ballooned. An assessment finds it will take somewhere between $6,100,000 and $16,800,000 to modernize the five-acre park fully.

Renovation of the facilities, which include a pool, water slides, the FlowRider wave simulator and a lazy river, would take four months to a year.

Water slides are now classified by Cal/OSHA as an amusement ride, forcing annual safety inspections.


As part of Vista's parks master plan, the city is deciding what needs to go and where improvements can be made.

"I look at the Wave as this huge opportunity," said Deputy Mayor Katie Melendez at a recent workshop on the park's needs. Several people have approached her about having evening events for adults at the Wave, she said. New vendors and more programming could help make it a more vibrant space.

The assessment found that 49 percent of Vista residents live within a ten-minute walk of a park, just below the national median of 55 percent.

The FlowRider wave simulator was one of the first installed in the U.S.


The Wave gets about 100,000 annual visitors, according to city staff. But keeping the aging park up to date won't be cheap.

Over the next four-five months the city will conduct surveys to find out what the community wants, undertake a program assessment, plan development, and mapping to see who benefits. 

The assessment so far, conducted by planning firm Next Practice Partners, gave the Wave a "good" rating, despite its disrepair.

Sponsored
Sponsored
The city can't use park funds to repair or replace the pool deck.


Planners said the park is known for having the world's first Flow Rider, and has been a model for others in the southwest. The city has done a good job maintaining it over the years — but now it needs "a significant capital investment."

Major renovations are needed to keep it safe and operable. The report found a mix of code requirements and violations, safety and maintenance concerns, and outdated standards, such as a lack of gender-neutral locker rooms.

What shows the most wear is the pool deck, particularly the lower deck. Several previous renovations have been done, including the water tower in recent years, but areas are in need of refurbishing.

The FlowRider, being one of the first installed in the U.S., with many of its original components, is costly to operate. Estimates for its repair or replacement range from $250,000 to $4 million.

Since the park was built 30 years ago, water slides are now classified by Cal/OSHA as an amusement ride, necessitating annual safety inspections.

City manager John Conley said the city hasn't budgeted to match the level of deterioration of some of the Wave's facilities. The city can't use park funds to repair or replace items.

Earlier this year, he said, the council approved a maintenance program, and will be relying on redevelopment funding for several maintenance projects.

"Some of the Wave improvements are in there. Some of them are not."

The Wave will be brought back to the city at the beginning of next year, to decide if it should be maintained as is, or more fully renovated.


Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Timken museum among best in world

Balboa Park is such a pleasant place, it can almost seem a waste to spend time indoors
Next Article

Sea Hive Station – not a Victorian antique store

Fondness for mixing old and new
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader