San Mateo parks survey: 660 respond; shade, water stations and restrooms top requests

City of San Mateo parks staff presented results of the department’s annual parks survey at the Park & Recreation Commission meeting on Sept. 3, reporting responses from 660 participants and identifying shade, water bottle filling stations and restrooms as top priorities.

Kevin Kobayashi, golf services manager presenting the survey, said, “we had 660 respondents” to the March–June questionnaire and described the top three parks visited as Central Park, Beresford and Seal Point. He summarized key usage and sentiment data: 81% of respondents visit parks once or twice a week or almost daily; 95% agreed that San Mateo parks play an important role in their lives; and roughly 85% agreed parks meet their physical access needs.

Survey respondents identified walking paths, open grass space and playgrounds as…