LAKE ELSINORE: Vandals destroy tot lot train

Official: Residents can suggest how to improve park

By AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer | Sunday, November 30, 2008 4:45 PM PST ∞

LAKE ELSINORE ---- A whimsical, bright red wooden train in Lake Elsinore's Summerhill Park that had been set on fire by vandals has been removed by city work crews.

The Parks and Recreation Department broke down and removed the train last week for safety reasons, leaving the park's "tot lot" barren save for a small sand box, city officials said.

The city's parks director, Ray Gonzales, said this act was particularly offensive because the playground equipment was used by preschool kids.

"It really doesn't make any sense at all," he said.

Lake Elsinore has allocated $1.8 million to replace outdated playground equipment at various city parks, but Summerhill Park, located across the street from a gas station at the corner of Canyon Estates Road and Summerhill Drive, isn't on the list.

Gonzales said the park will be included on the list that is prepared next year.

To do something in the meantime about the gaping hole where the train once stood, Gonzales said last week that he would be happy to meet with neighborhood residents to determine the type of equipment they would like to have in the park. He also said he would work to seek alternative funding sources for the play equipment.

Lake Elsinore spokesman Mark Dennis said there may be an opportunity for the city to replace the train with something better that might be more appreciated by the area's families.

Anything new at the park would be keenly appreciated by park visitors and families because the train, which anchored the northwestern corner of the park, was the only playground equipment designed for young children.

Canyon Estates residents and visitors to the park last week said the park, dominated by a large soccer field-sized expanse of lawn, is normally used by soccer players, football players and children flying kites.

Families with young children using the park benches and barbecue pits, situated near the tot lot, said they enjoyed the train.

Pooch McClain, a nomadic surfer who parks his van in the park's parking lot during the day, said the train was a popular fixture and there were always little kids playing on it.

"They'd let their imaginations go and focus their minds on something else," he said. "It just takes a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone else."

McClain said this sort of vandalism could have be prevented if the city had cameras installed atop the park's restrooms.

"They would save property and save lives," he said.

Joy Castillo, a Lake Elsinore resident who moved here less than two months ago from a college town in Missouri, said she was disappointed by the loss of the train.

"I'd love to see a nice play structure go up there," she said.

Castillo said the likely culprits are a "handful of bullies."

Some of Castillo's neighbors said police have been actively looking for the "bullies" but they can't catch them in the act. Like McClain, many other neighbors support the idea of installing a camera at the park.

Contact staff writer Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com.