E. M. Grimmer Elementary school park is located at 43030 Newport Dr, Fremont, CA 94538. The school park is locked and not accessible to Grimmer Residents even  after school hours, despite continuous requests to school and city authorities.  As a result, kids end up playing in the streets and sidewalks around the Grimmer neighborhood with lack of access to any park.  On May 20th 2022, a 7 year old boy was fatally hit by a car while riding a bike on the sidewalk in this neighborhood.  This could have been avoided and we want to avoid any such future casualties.

We all know that access to parks is strongly linked to better health for kids and adults. Children need an outlet and a safe space to play in the evenings and weekends. While we have many reasons to request park opening, we were not provided a valid reason for not opening the park to the public. We don’t understand if there is a unique reason for Grimmer school park to be closed, while all other neighborhood schools keep their park open to the public after hours. The benefits of opening the park to the public will certainly outweigh the concerns the school may have as it will contribute to a close-knit community that watches out for each other.

If this is still not convincing enough for the authorities, the Grimmer neighborhood is willing to work with the authorities to keep the park open on a “trail basis” for a 3 month period.  We could evaluate the benefits, risks and concerns at the end of the 3 month period and decide the course of action for the future.

Below are the benefits to the children, if the park is open after school hours:

• Less accidents on the street.
• Better test scores
• Better cognitive function
• Fewer behavioral problems
• Improved self-discipline.

Below are the benefits to the wider community with access to the park.

Contribute to community identity.

• Provide active and passive recreational opportunities.
• Appeal to all ages. 
• Contribute to the health and wellness of a community

We strongly urge the FUSD Board of Directors and the E.M Grimmer School Principal to open the Grimmer School Park for residents.