Ben Cantu —  the previous mayor who had a front row seat when it came to Manteca’s growth for roughly quarter of a century as a city planner — tends not to pull punches.

Like most of us, he misses almost as many, or more than, he lands them.

But when he gets a good shot in,it packs a lot of punch.

One his primary targets for easily 30 years has been Manteca’s neighborhood park strategy.

In a rough paraphrase of his own words, for the most part, they are nothing more than storm retention basins with some low-key park and recreation functions attached.

They were not, in Cantu’s estimation, true parks.

It was akin to slapping lipstick and a dress on a pig.

It may look like something else but at its core, it’s still a pig.

Do not misunderstand.

The strategy of camouflaging storm retention basins as neighborhood parks was basically sound given the closest thing in Manteca to a hill is the 120 Bypass over crossing of Moffat Boulevard.

The city’s flatness combined with soil types makes urbanization conducive to localized flooding on a large scale.

A stand-alone robust storm drain system without frequent “sidings” where runoff can be temporarily sent and then released into the pipes when there is capacity is an expensive engineering proposition.

The decision to combine storm retention basins into city parks changed the path of winters in Manteca.

Localized flooding with vehicles creating waves in standing water as well as pooled water lapping at doorsteps, was pretty much an annual thing in the winter.

The fact Manteca was among the first cities to use such a strategy coupled with some storm drain infrastructure has put localized flooding in the endangered list here,while it still is a tricky problem in many other valley communities. 

Combining neighborhood park requirements with storm system has been a good hybrid generation approach.

It has worked well in reducing development costs for builders, but it hasn’t necessarily been the best possible outcome if a community desires parks that bring people outdoors in a robust manner for recreation an interaction instead of functioning more like open space.

It is why Manteca — who happens to be one of the rare municipalities where the city manager rose through the ranks of public service via parks and recreation — appears to be moving forward in trying to break the mold when it comes to future city parks.

There are clear signs the goal is to shift more investment to the recreational use synergy a larger than 50 acre community park would offer.

Given that can be a long road and one that might meet resistance from some who make a living building homes, the city has an emerging fallback strategy that will require developers to step up.

That strategy will manifest itself in the coming several years on what is weed infested fields on the southeast quadrant of the 120 Bypass and Main Street interchange.

The 818-home Quaterra project will include what is arguably the city’s first quasi-community park being created 100 percent on the developer’s dime with the added bonus it won’t be maintained by the city.

The two acres will include the usual playground equipment and picnic tables.

It will include elements that some large neighborhood parks have such as a shade structure for the picnic area and a sand volleyball court.

But because it is a park, first and foremost, being designed with five very non-neighborhood park elements, at least by Manteca standards.

It will have a dog park, interactive water feature for kids such as a splash pad, a pickleball court, cricket pitch, and restrooms.

They are all higher intensity uses that will draw people from other areas of Manteca.

Parks are meant to be used.

That said, an open grassy field in a storm retention basin may work will for a soccer team practice or the occasional flying of a kite or drone but that’s about it.

The restrooms are actually an extension of a growing, low-key recreational/exercise pursuit of walking around parks.

Many walkers have asked for restrooms in neighborhood parks but they tend to be expensive to both place and maintain on such a micro-scale.

It is a different story with a park designed for more robust use and has an operational strategy to go with it.

The Quarterra park will also have robust walking paths that — when coupled with street sidewalks in the neighborhood and the restrooms — will likely be a magnet for walking enthusiasts.

It sounds wacky, but it’s not. Many people like to walk with young children. Other walkers, such as seniors, may not be able to walk for a long time without possibly needing to use facilities.

It will mean people driving to the park.

But that’s OK because it means people will be using the park.

It also goes without saying that a park with facilities that can be programmed by the city with recreational offerings — multi-use playing fields, baseball/softball fields, volleyball courts, tennis courts, amphitheater, community center (who knows, maybe with a library), skate park, aquatics center, and such — get extensively more use.

And, as noted in the city’s general plan, it’s an effective way to create a more cohesive community and to get people to exercise and improve their health.

To have open space/parks still widespread, retention basins where needed can have reduced non-basin grassy open areas with basic playground equipment and perhaps a basketball court.

The city concentrating on more quasi-community parks as well as pursuing a community park closer to 100 acres, will better serve a city that clearly is well on its way to 150,000 people in the next years.

The same old, same old even with the proverbial lipstick and dress slapped on, doesn’t cut it any more.

It’s time to elevate Manteca, including its parks and community services.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com