|
Important Dates for the Berkeley Waterfront
Another open letter to paddlers, rowers, and sailors April 12 2001 The www.EastshoreStatePark.org website is now open for interactive participation. First public workshop to plan the Eastshore State Park: Thursday, April 26, 7:00 PM, at Hs. Lordships Restaurant in the Berkeley Marina. Bend the ear of a park planner at the Berkeley Bay Festival: Saturday April 28, Berkeley Marina. Monday, May 21: Joint Waterfront Commission/Parks Commission meeting to discuss the results of the first workshop. This is just a quick note to remind paddlers, rowers, and sailors of some dates and events that will be extremely important to the future of the Berkeley Waterfront. The www.EastshoreStatePark.org website has been open for a few weeks, but has had only very light traffic in the public comment area to date. Nearly all has been paddlers or sailors expressing an interest in facilities to support non-motorized water-related uses. Also some call for a dragon boat launch site (but no outrigger interest so far). Unfortunately there is significant opposition to developing the new park along these lines from the Sierra Club and other groups. So every post is important! With so few voices, every voice has an impact on anyone who examines this public participation record. If you would like to see more and better access to on-the-water activities, muddle through the awful user interface of the "get involved" page at www.EastshoreStatePark.org and weigh in with your vision for the Berkeley Waterfront. The first public workshop, as announced in a previous letter, is just two weeks away on Thursday April 26, at Hs. Lordships Restaurant in the Berkeley Marina. This first workshop will most likely set the course for the rest of the planning sequence, and It could be the decisive moment for the future of the Eastshore State Park and the North Cove. Will we have an empty stretch of water, or will it be a major access point for dragon boats? Outriggers? Kayaks? Rowboats? Windsurfers? sailing dinghies? If you don't participate in any other way, come to this meeting and help convince the planners that the future of Bay Area waterfronts is organized paddling, rowing, or sailing. It's the best way to bring this wonderful open space resource to the most participants, it's the best way to provide the public service component, and it's compatible with open space preservation and habitat protection goals. Two days later, Saturday April 28, is the Berkeley Bay Festival at the Berkeley Marina. Lots of good stuff going on, but the main point of interest is the table with some people from East Bay Regional Park District, and from the Citizens for the Eastshore State Park. Also a table for the Berkeley Waterfront Commission. At both tables you'll have a chance to talk directly to some of the decision-makers, and a half hour of one-on-one with the right person sometimes goes a very long way. More info about Berkeley Bay Festival is at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Parks/marina/marinaexp/bayfest1.htm And finally, Monday May 21 is the first joint meeting of the Berkeley Waterfront Commission and the Berkeley Parks Commission. This is not a public hearing or workshop, but might still be a chance to influence the course of Berkeley's input to the Eastshore State Park plan. Waterfront Commission info, and lots more about the Eastshore State Park, is on my website at www.well.com/user/pk/waterfront. Hope to see you all in the next few weeks. Paul Kamen
|