TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Baby ducks, rejoice: The city's newly constructed duck ramp was installed Monday morning. Officials hope the device will prevent future duck-drowning incidents in the downtown canal that serves as the centerpiece of Mill Creek Linear Park.

The ramp, on the north side of 19th Street at Central Park, provides a bridge over the waterfall feature so ducks can waddle to more placid waters above. The strong hydraulics were trapping ducklings, much to the dismay of park visitors. Some citizens even installed homemade ramps after seeing ducks drown.

Art Chianello, Bakersfield's water resources manager, said the bridge cost several thousand dollars and is built to last.

"We consider it permanent," he said. The bridge is made of metal, topped with green astroturf and attached to the canal's concrete siding.

Now that it's winter and this season's ducklings are grown up, the ramp might not get immediate action.

"I'm not sure if we've had any customers yet," Chianello said.

But when new ducklings arrive next year, their ramp will be ready.

Two new city sports parks are nearing completion -- or were, until bad weather messed with their turf.

Still, you might have noticed these facilities going up and wondered when you'll be using them. So here's an update:

* Sports Village: Eight new soccer fields on Taft Highway, between Ashe and Gosford roads, were slated for completion this month. Now, it could be spring or even summer before the fields can withstand the foot traffic.

"The big 'if' is the turf," said Allen Abe, assistant director of Bakersfield's Recreation and Parks Department.

Grass has been planted but recent cold weather stymied growth. The turf really needs to take hold before it can support soccer play, Abe said.

The $7 million site will, next fall, be home to the American Youth Soccer Organization's Region 73 events. The league has been playing at Cal State Bakersfield for 30 years but the university needs the grounds for new dormitories.

The eight lighted fields, along with parking, restrooms and a concession stand, are the first phase of the 170-acre sports complex. With money tight, plans for future amenities -- baseball, football, softball and more soccer fields as well as trails and a community center -- are all on hold, Abe said.

* Mesa Marin Softball Complex: Four lighted softball diamonds, parking, restrooms and a concession stand are finished by the former raceway site between Highway 178 and Kern Canyon Road.

Finishing touches and weather-related turf issues put the expected opening of the $3.5 million facility to spring.

"It's done," Abe said of the bulk of the work.

Park construction is funded by development fees and grants, not paid by the city's general fund, Abe said.

Two other new city parks are also moving forward:

* Construction has started at Greystone Park, a $2 million neighborhood facility at Harris Road and Mountain Vista Drive in the southwest. The 8-acre park will include parking, a restroom, and basketball courts along with open grassy space encircling the city's Fire Station 14.

One obstacle: burrowing owls that lived on the site had to be relocated. Most birds are gone, with crews working around any remaining owls. The park should open in the spring.

* Kern River Upland Park is ready to go: a $1.7 million construction contract was awarded last month and -- what had been a big stumbling block -- state and federal wildlife regulators have given approvals.

The 14.5-acre habitat restoration project, which is funded largely by a state grant, will stretch along the south edge of the river, west of the Chester Avenue bridge. This will be an educational site with walkways and observation decks providing information about the habitat. The park is slated to open in late spring.

The Bakersfield City Council will hold a special meeting at 2 p.m. Friday to award a bid on the Truxtun tie-in segment of the Westside Parkway.

The council needs to act as soon as possible to help protect against unpleasant surprises when the state Legislature goes into a special budget session Dec. 6, said City Manager Alan Tandy in a memo.

"Projects with awarded bids are less subject to being frozen by the Legislature," Tandy wrote.

The city received $24 million of state funding for the segment earlier this year but bidding was held up by the state's budget process.

The tie-in segment will create long on- and off-ramps from Truxtun Avenue onto the parkway, Bakersfield's new six-lane, east-west freeway now under construction.

-- Compiled by staff writer Gretchen Wenner