Martineztown-Santa Barbara

Nice park to relax and live in. Plenty of room to do drugs. Avoid taking your family here though

The Good: This park falls just shy of five stars, it's easily one of the best in the city. The property provides everything an urban dweller should expect, which is unfortunately not the norm in many neighborhoods (that so bums meowt). From an architectural standpoint it actually soars, with berms and rolling hillsides flanking soccer and kickball fields, winding walking/jogging paths, plenty of benches and picnic tables, gorgeous murals, and trees shading virtually everything. Plenty of parking. Two full basketball courts. A fully fenced and manicured baseball diamond with risers for the cheering section. An enormous shaded structure just adjacent to the playground which is perfect for picnics, and a huge slab of cement and brick which would've been insanely tempting to me when I was a little skate punk. The playground structure is pretty rad, too, sort of an earth ship with ladders and lookouts, a forked twisty slide. Wood chips.The Bad: The playground is really aimed for the older set, my toddler lost interest pretty quickly. Two bucket swings, very limited radius, no big kid saddles. While it's well maintained, there's a turf war going on around here, with the Westsidaz apparently winning the spray paint battle. Oh, and Elmo tags here. Seriously.The Verdict: I've checked out a fair amount of Parks & Recreation plots, so far this place resonates the deepest for me, reminiscent of the place I grew up next to. I can feel the community here, and I'll definitely consider using it for our daughter's birthday. What a gem!