Open Letter #12The Plan for the Eastshore State Park Just a quick reminder that the next critical date for the Eastshore State park is: Thursday, March 21, 7 pm at the Florence Schwimley Little Theatre in the Berkeley Community Theatre complex, 1930 Alston Way, in downtown Berkeley. BART is two blocks to the east, and safe on-street parking is usually easy to find about three or four blocks to the west. This will be the first public workshop to comment on the "Draft Preferred Park Concept Plan" for the Eastshore State Park. The Concept Plan is the work of Wallace Roberts Todd, part of the planning team hired by the State to produce a plan for the new state park that extends along the waterfront from the Bay Bridge to Richmond. Take a look at the plan, at www.nasites.com/cmprojects... or go to www.EastshoreStatePark.org and click on "public documents" or follow the link from my page at www.well.com/user/pk/waterfront/ESP.html. For more background and opinion on the various issues at stake, see previous open letters archived at www.well.com/user/pk/waterfront/EastshoreStatePark/OpenLetters Citizens for the Eastshore State Park, Sierra Club, Audubon Society and other groups will all be lobbying hard for their own versions of the plan and their own vision of the park. Playing field advocates and off-leash dog runners will be there too. But State Parks also needs to hear from the water-borne community, arguably the most important users of the waterfront. We should all make an effort to attend the meeting, and make sure that access to the water becomes an integral part of this waterfront park. Hope to see you all on Thursday. Paul Kamen
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