McLaren Park - Vision Plan

Background

Group of People Sitting at Several Tables with Maps

The McLaren Park Vision Plan was created to identify potential projects for $12 million from the 2012 Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond . With the current McLaren Park Trails Improvement Project underway, the Department has delivered all Quick Start and Tier 1 projects.

The 2020 Health and Recovery Bond allocated $6 million for additional projects in McLaren Park. RPD staff reviewed the 2018 Vision Plan, prepared various assessments, and conducted community outreach from Fall 2022 through Summer 2023 to identify the next investment opportunities in the park. Preliminary project ideas can be viewed under the Documents & Materials tab below. The McLaren Park Vision Plan serves as a framework for our current project proposals.

The McLaren Park Vision Plan

After two and half years of community outreach, the Recreation and Park Department published the McLaren Park Vision Plan Report in the Spring of 2018. The goals of the Vision Plan were the following:

Engage the community to develop an identity for McLaren Park
Build a community-supported vision
Balance neighborhood and city use while protecting natural features
Invest the 2012 Bond in priority projects that support a shared vision; and
Position McLaren Park for future investment.

The complete report can be viewed here McLaren Park Vision Plan and a summary of the projects that received funding is on page 81. View the Appendix (PDF) for additional details on the outreach process.

Project Updates

If you would like to sign-up for Project Update blog posts like the ones below, click here , scroll down to the News Flash section, and then select “RPD Park Improvements | All Project Updates” to receive updates on all our active projects, or pick-and-choose your blog subscriptions by project name. You’ll receive an email that includes a link to confirm your new subscription for each blog for which you sign-up.

Project Update Blog

McLaren Park | Focus groups help refine maps and signs

Connectivity planning has been a major focus of McLaren Park 2020 Bond Planning and Vision Plan updates. As part of ongoing project scoping and outreach, Rec and Park staff held three focus groups in May 2025. Representatives from various Read on…

Capital Project Update Opens in new window

Let’sPlaySF! Initiative | Take the Let’sPlaySF! Playground Survey open through January 31, 2025

Thanks to the successful Let’sPlaySF! Initiative funded by the 2012 Park Bond, SF Parks Alliance, and philanthropic partners we are renovating 13 dilapidated playgrounds across our city. With 11 playgrounds already beautifully renovated and two more Read on…

McLaren Park | McLaren Park Collaborative meeting, November 18, 6:30 pm

Rec and Park staff will share various capital project updates at the virtual McLaren Collaborative meeting this evening, Monday 11/18, starting at 6:30 pm Read on…

McLaren Park – Shelley Promenade | Parking area opening near Mansell Street

Rec and Park is happy to announce the opening of a small parking area on John Shelley Drive West near Mansell Street at the Field of Dogs. Accessed from Mansell Street to the south, the area will accommodate over 20 vehicles, parked parallel to the Read on…

McLaren Park | Demolition at Mansell East begins this week

At the east end of Mansell Street in McLaren Park, the restroom and clubhouse building near the tennis courts was destroyed by two arson fires in the past three months. Demolition at Mansell East will begin this week Read on…

McLaren Trails Improvement Project | Tree work starts along Visitacion Ave the week of February 19

For the last four years, the Recreation and Park Department has been engaging neighbors and other stakeholders, developing designs, and working through regulatory compliance for priority trail improvements and natural features restoration in McLaren Park Read on…

Herz Recreation Center | Construction update January 2024

Since our last update in November, demolition, excavation, and site work has wrapped up. Contractors are now working on preparing the footings for the future building structure Read on…

Shelley Promenade Project in McLaren Park | Board of Supervisors Vote to Make Promenade Permanent

The Shelley Promenade in McLaren Park is now a permanent pedestrian promenade after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors signed the conversion into law on October 24. This nearly half-mile stretch of Read on…

McLaren Park – Yosemite Creek | Project updates December 2023

Rec and Park, in partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), is “daylighting” the historic Yosemite Creek in McLaren Park. “Daylighting” is the process of uncovering and restoring a natural creek that was enclosed in Read on…

Herz Playground | Project update Nov-Dec 2023 | Restrooms open and all construction now complete

The Herz Playground renovation is now all complete! All restrooms are now open and available, and all of the new picnic tables, partitions, and permanent fencing have also been installed. Thank you for Read on…

Herz Recreation Center | Construction update November 2023

Since our last construction update in October, our contractors have completed surveying the site and installing all the necessary tree protection measures. This month, we will Read on…

Herz Recreation Center | Project update October 2023

Exciting news to share. We broke ground this month on Herz Recreation Center, an all-new facility set to open in early 2025, located at Read on…

Shelley Promenade Project in McLaren Park | Board of Supervisors review, next Monday, Oct 2, 1:30pm

In June 2023, SF Recreation and Park Commission voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the conversion of a section of John Shelley Drive in McLaren Park, from a vehicular roadway to a permanent pedestrian and bicycle promenade Read on…