WATSONVILLE—Work continues at the Watsonville High School campus to upgrade its appearance, bolster street safety and create new study spots for students.
The new features include a nearly 200-foot circumference shade structure installed three weeks ago between the gym and Geiser Field.
“It creates a space for students to gather in a comfortable spot to do their homework outdoors, gather and meet up,” WHS Vice Principal Joe Gregorio said last week during a campus tour. “It sets an inviting tone.”
Nearby, on the intersection of Wildcatz Way and Lincoln Street, students recently painted four concrete trash containers, one at each corner of the intersection, bright yellow. Students are also painting steel railings around the campus black to match the school’s colors, black and yellow. Numerous steel traffic guideposts were also painted yellow and, on Wednesday, workers were busy highlighting curbs in the area with white paint.
Additionally, eight new solar-powered street lights were installed along Lincoln Street between Riverside Drive and the center of campus.
Those enhancements follow the installation of two massive Willie the Wildcat school logos on Lincoln Street last year. Also completed as part of that project—funded through a $633,000 Caltrans grant—were new pedestrian crosswalks, ADA compliant sidewalks and curbs, bicycle racks and upgraded pavement markings and signage.
The school also plans to create a giant mural painted by students along Wildcatz Way from Lincoln Street past the gym and swimming pool area, Gregorio said.
“It will be a kind of grand entrance to this area of the school,” Gregorio said. “It will add more cohesiveness and a greater sense of school pride. And it will be something students will be proud of.”
