Treasure Island's first major park opens, featuring sweeping views of San Francisco

Treasure Island's first major park opens, featuring sweeping views of San Francisco

Treasure Island's first major public park is now officially open, and city leaders and residents were on hand to celebrate the milestone Saturday.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Treasure Island's first major public park is now officially open, and city leaders and residents were on hand to celebrate the milestone Saturday. 

Ribbon cutting at Cityside Park

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie cut the ribbon on Cityside Park Saturday afternoon. 

"This is an incredible, incredible addition to what I think is the best park system in the country," said Lurie.

"This is going to be the place to be," said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey. 

Balancing beauty and sustainability

What we know:

The new six-acre greenspace is the first of its kind on Treasure Island. When it's fully completed it will be approximately 24 acres.

The park boasts sweeping views of the San Francisco skyline, a great lawn, pedestrian plaza and barbecue spots. 

"It's good. Beautiful," said Candy Pestano of Daly City. 

The park's designers say the goal was to balance beauty and sustainability. Take the gardens, for example. 

"They're actually stormwater gardens in which we keep and collect all of the rainwater and stormwater on the island, and it's naturally biofiltered before it gets to the bay," said Chris Meany of Treasure Island Community Development. 

Park attracts visitors and residents

Just an eight-minute ferry ride from Downtown, the space is expected to draw people from across the Bay Area.

What they're saying:

 "Well, just to bring the kids here, it's a new park. We want to have them enjoy the scenery," said James Pestano of Daly City. 

But Lurie points out its not just for visitors. 

"It's for the residents of this community," said Lurie.

Residents like Maria Portillo and her dog Bailey.

"I love it! I'm looking forward," said Portillo. "Having a dog, I love walking the path."

Part of a wave of development on Treasure Island 

Local perspective:

"We definitely need a park here," said Erin Los Cocco, who has lived on Treasure Island for 25 years. "It used to be a ghost town and now it's kind of a community."

That community is still taking shape. So far, about 1,000 housing units have been built. A total of 8,000 are expected in the coming years -- along with 300 acres of park land. 

"Treasure Island is definitely kind of the next development, the new neighborhood of San Francisco that they want to build out. So we're happy to be a part of it," said Matthew Carter, marketing manager for mobile food platform Off the Grid. 

Weekly food truck market kicks off in Cityside Park

Timed to coincide with the park's grand opening, Off the Grid kicked off a series of pop-up markets Saturday, featuring live music, games and plenty of food. 

"We have over 300 food truck creators that are in our brand that we'll kind of cycle through," said Carter. 

Those weekly events will be happening in Cityside Park every Saturday through November 1, from 11am to 4pm.