Balboa Park Master Plan Analysis: Florida Canyon, Zoo Parking Lot, Arizona Landfill, Morley Field, and Inspiration Point

The primary goals of this project were to review and assess the implementation of the 1989 Balboa Park Master Plan and provide recommendations for future plan updates. In the first chapter of this report, we discuss previous planning efforts, including the 1989 Balboa Park Master Plan, City of San Diego General Plan, and the 2021 Parks Master Plan. The remaining chapters are split into three Balboa Park sub-areas: Zoo Parking Lot and Florida Canyon, Inspiration Point, and Morley Field and Arizona Landfill. Each of these chapters starts with a discussion of existing conditions for the corresponding sub-area by assessing if related policies from the 1989 Balboa Park Master Plan were implemented. Generally, we found that many of the more ambitious plans, including a trolley through Balboa Park and pedestrian bridges, have yet to be implemented. Next, each sub-area chapter details the design and implementation of a pilot survey in order to better understand community input on Balboa Park. While these surveys had very small sample sizes, they provided preliminary results on improvements that park users would like to see, mostly in the categories of transportation and recreation. Lastly, each chapter provides recommendations for the future of their sub-area. These recommendations are listed in the form of elements, goals, objectives, and policies, following the organization of the General Plan Guidelines from the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. Themes throughout these recommendations echo the ideals of the 1989 Balboa Park Master Plan, including providing a more connected transportation system for pedestrians and cyclists and improving recreation options. Lastly, the report concludes with a discussion of suggested next steps for a full update of the sub-area plans.