The Most Important Date in the History
of the Berkeley Waterfront
September 10 – Berkeley
“Put Monday, September 24, 7:00 pm, on your calendar,”
advises Paul Kamen, “as it is probably the most important
date ever in the history of the Berkeley Waterfront. September
24 is the date of the first public workshop to determine appropriate
uses for most of the shoreline between the Bay Bridge and Richmond.
There is consensus that most of the shoreline and tidelands will
be preserved as open space and wildlife habitat. Emeryville Crescent,
the Hoffman Mash, the creek outflows, and other sensitive tidal
flats are quite safe. At issue is the degree to which human recreation
will be supported along other areas of the shoreline, areas which
have less ecological importance but offer perfect opportunities
for various types of small craft operation. If the plans put
forth by the Sierra Club and Audubon Society are adopted, the
Eastshore State Park will be a great place to look at the water
– but you’ll have to go elsewhere if you want to touch it or
float on it.
“The meeting is Monday, September
24, at 7:00 pm at Hs. Lordships Restaurant, Berkeley Marina,
in the upstairs banquet room. This room holds 600 people, and
the workshop organizers hope to fill it up. Previous ‘workshops’
have really just been presentation and comment sessions. This
time, the plan is to break the participants into groups of probably
about 10 people per group, and go through a three-step process
using large-scale maps. Participants will be asked to: 1) Estimate
the ‘carrying capacity’ of each section of the park. 2) Determine
appropriate uses consistent with carrying capacity. 3) Propose
improvements and facilities to support those uses.
“If State Parks (the owner) and East
Bay Regional (the operator) do the right thing, this park could
provide some amazing opportunities for entry-level rowing, kayaking,
small boat sailing, windsurfing, and possibly even a permanent
dragon boat facility or an outrigger club. We could have on-site
storage for kayaks and sailboards at the best launch sites. We
could have youth programs offering dragon boat practice every
day after school. We could have rental rowboats for the one-time
visitor. We could have sensible parking lots near the launch
sites where they’re needed, with bathrooms and showers.
“At issue here is the role we see
for water-borne recreation in an urban setting: Is it something
we should have at our doorstep? Or is it something we should
have to drive a great distance to find, in a vehicle large enough
to carry our gear? Should a State Park support non-profit clubs
with strong public service components? Or is the commercial monopoly
concession their only business model?
“As much as I dislike taking positions
that oppose the Sierra Club, I think the Club has the environmental
interests of the region on backwards in this case. Close-in recreation,
especially recreation involving small non-motorized boats, has
an environmental and social value that is going unrecognized
by the Sierra Club and by the planners and advocates who seem
to be in control. There is real danger that we’ll end up with
a waterfront that relates to the water in name only, with no
way to actually do anything involving boats. We can change this.
Please attend the workshop on September 24, and take part in
shaping this new waterfront park. For more background, see the
letter archived at www.well.com/user/pk/waterfront/ESP-OpenLetter-1.html.”
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