Peaceful Pardall Park Pumps Up Pupils in Isla Vista

ISLA VISTA, Calif.—It’s an area with heavy foot traffic— from skateboarders to cyclists— and now it has the perfect resting spot, thanks to the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District, several partners, and a lot of community input.
 
“It's a fantastic spot. If you're going to campus, you need to study for a midterm or a final great place to sit down and do it. If you're leaving campus and you need to decompress from a midterm or final labs or whatever, great place to do it,” said Henry Sarria, who lives in Isla Vista.

Isla Vista Recreation and Park Districts unveiled "Peaceful Pardall Park” Thursday afternoon.
 
“There really should be a kind of open space here, a public space. Among all of the businesses, it seems just kind of, a little bit stiff. So this is a nice place to be able to, you know, come here, have lunch,” said UCSB Student Edward Westby.
 
The park fills what used to be an empty lot on Pardall Road.
 
“I remember when I first moved here in ’87, there was a beach volleyball court and there was always activity, but then it just kind of imploded on itself…once they decided to reactivate it—best decision ever made,” said Henry Sarria.
 
Now, it has granite walkways, benches, picnic tables, bar top seating, lighting, and a gathering area.
 
“Most of the parks here don't have a lot of tables or, lights, so it's nice to see that we can even come in the evenings and just do some work or hang out with friends. It's definitely something innovative,” said UCSB 4th Year Student Arly Lara.
 
“The idea is to make it soft, make it inviting, and try to make it quiet and a peaceful place to get away,” said Landscape Architect Eric Berg.
 
Berg helped design the landscape with water conservation in mind.
 
“The entire park is designed to collect any of the stormwater, either rainwater that lands on it and funnel it into this central swale—The sand area right here, which is about a one foot, 18 inch deep area of sand that collects all of the storm water in here and infiltrates it into the groundwater,” said Berg.
 
It features drought tolerant plants that require little irrigation or maintenance.
  
This is the first time in 14 years that Isla Vista has seen a capital improvement project on this scale.