Mayor & Councilmember Call to Decommission City’s Largest Encampment Ahead of Multimillion-dollar Park Revitalization Vote
For years, a growing encampment and mounting safety concerns at Columbus Park have made athletic facilities and the park at large inaccessible to the public
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2025
Media Contact:
Seamus Gann, Communications Manager, Office of Mayor Matt Mahan
SAN JOSÉ, CA - At today’s City Council meeting, City staff will present a plan to revitalize Columbus Park with new amenities, including four youth soccer fields overlaid on two adult-size fields, a half basketball court, horseshoe pits, pickleball and futsal courts, a play area, paseo, and parking lot. Once a hub for youth sports in an under-resourced area, the park has become largely inaccessible due to mounting safety concerns — including a homicide at the encampment last year — and a growing number of lived-in vehicles occupying the fields and courts.
With well over 1,000 new shelter beds set to be added to the city’s portfolio this year, Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmember Michael Mulcahy are demanding that the park be restored for community use — while pushing staff to offer safe, dignified alternatives when available for those currently living in unmanaged conditions.
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