By Clyde Noel

The Shoup Park play area is closed until December while undergoing renovation. The area is currently fenced with steel barricades.

The Garden House at the park remains open for meetings with most of the parking confined to University Avenue.

Dave Brees, Los Altos recreation director, said that after the city council approved the project in March, it could have started any time; but it was decided the project would be started after schools opened.

“We are excited about the plans to update Shoup Park, because they were a long time coming,” Brees said. “We were waiting for the project to be funded for five years. We recognize there is no ideal time to renovate a park, because it is heavily used the entire year.”

The Shoup Park undertaking consists of three different projects. The first was the lighting of the pathway around the park, which was completed last year.

The remaining two projects, started Sept. 2, consist of replacing the pathway and installing playground equipment.

The project has been outsourced. Most of the equipment installation and pathway improvement will take place during September and October.

“It is anticipated that some of the turf area will be impacted because of the large equipment used in the park. We will do that work in November,” Brees said. “We expect the park to be available for play with all new equipment by Dec. 1.”

The park will get new playground equipment for the preschool and the elementary areas.

“The preschool area will receive numerous pieces of equipment that are popular in other parks in the Bay Area. The elementary area will also receive new equipment, for a greater play experience.

“It has taken a long time for this project to be funded, and during that time, when a piece of equipment was broken it was never replaced,” Brees said. “Those pieces will now be replaced with new, exciting equipment.”