-
Tom Butt for Richmond City Council The Tom Butt E-Forum About Tom Butt Platform Endorsements of Richmond Councilmember Tom Butt Accomplishments Contribute to Tom Butt for Richmond City Council Contact Tom Butt Tom Butt Archives
-
E-Mail Forum
RETURN
Bay Trail Blazes Through Richmond
October 20, 2002
Courtesy of TRAC (Trails for Richmond Action Committee), the following report updates Bay Trail progress in Richmond. The last three months have witnessed great strides forward, including over 3-1/2 miles of new trail built and two new grants awarded.  Many of you were among the 200+ people participating in the Sept. 14 Pier to Point Trail Hop celebrating completion of the Bay Trail from Point Isabel to Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline.  As you read this report, please refer to the attached new map of Richmond's Bay Trail prepared by ABAG.

Richmond Bay Trail Third Quarter Progress Report

A. Trails Built:  

1. The City of Richmond Public Services Agency built 3.3 miles of Bay Trail from the Marina Bay Harbor Master's Office to Judge Carroll Park at Cutting and Garrard Blvds, down Canal Blvd to the Crest trailhead of Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline and north on Garrard Blvd. to the Richmond Parkway Bay Trail.  This was funded by an ABAG Bay Trail grant secured by TRAC.

2. East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) built a 1/4-mile Bay Trail segment with fantastic Bay vistas connecting Ferry Point with the lagoon area of Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline.  This was funded by Prop. 12 State Park bonds.

B. Trails Under Construction:

The Lucretia Edwards Shoreline Park is under construction at the end of Marina Way South, including extending the Bay Trail from the marina to the historic Ford Assembly Building.  This is a project of the Richmond Redevelopment Agency.

C.  Funds Awarded and Pending:

1. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District awarded $100K to the City of Richmond for              filling a gap in the Richmond Parkway Bay Trail from Pennsylvania Avenue past Peres School to Gertrude Avenue.  TRAC prepared this grant application for Richmond Public Services Agency.

2. The National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program has awarded TRAC planning assistance during the next twelve months.  This assistance will be used to design signs interpreting human and natural history along the Bay Trail and to prepare Bay Trail grant applications.

3. An application was filed with California State Parks for a Recreational Trails Program grant of $189K to complete funding for filling the above gap in the Parkway Bay Trail from Pennsylvania past Peres School to Gertrude Avenue.

4. The County Board of Supervisors gave a green light to an open space ballot measure which will allocate $5 million for a regional shoreline park and open space project on the western half of the Point San Pablo peninsula both north and south of Point Molate.  The EBRPD Board of Directors authorized $40K to match the same amount authorized by the Richmond City Council for a study of this proposed open space project.  Combined with funds promised by California Coastal Conservancy and Muir Heritage Land Trust, $210K has been committed to this study.

D. Planning and Design Studies - all but two are funded by grants from ABAG:

1. Design to fill the one-mile gap in the Richmond Parkway Class I Bay Trail from Pennsylvania Avenue past Peres School to Gertrude Avenue is being wrapped up by AN West Inc. under contract to Richmond Public Services Agency.

2. Design for a Class I Bay Trail segment from Cutting and Garrard Blvds to Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline through the Ferry Point auto tunnel is being wrapped up by AN West Inc under contract to Richmond Public Services Agency.  Tunnel lighting will be improved and trail width doubled.

3. Preliminary design for a Class I Bay Trail along Harbour Way South and Hall Avenue has been completed by AN West Inc. under contract to Richmond Redevelopment Agency.  This will be the major gateway to the new National Historical Park visitor center in the Ford Assembly Building.

4. Richmond Planning Dept. has received proposals from eight consulting firms to evaluate Bay Trail access to WWII Homefront National Historical Park sites in former Kaiser Shipyard 3 at Potrero Point.  This may lead to a new, level Bay Trail connection between Canal Blvd and Brickyard Cove Road.

5. Under contract to EBRPD and in cooperation with West County Wastewater District, Questa has prepared preliminary alignments for a trail connecting Wildcat Creek Regional Viewpoint with the south bank of San Pablo Creek and the Richmond Parkway Bay Trail.

E. Private Projects:

1. The Bay Trail is included in development plans for the historic Ford Assembly Building, which will include the visitor center for the Rosie the Riveter WWII Homefront National Historical Park.

2. The proposed Edgewater Technology Park between Goodrick Avenue and Point Pinole Regional Shoreline includes an important spine Bay Trail segment.  However, the adjacent proposed Breuner Marsh Mitigation Bank fails to include a planned 0.7-mile shoreline trail to EBRPD land on a scenic spit of land south of Point Pinole.  Letter comments on the Draft EIR have poured in from residents of neighborhoods throughout town, including such diverse groups as a Brickyard Cove Homeowners Association, May Valley Neighborhood Council, Neighborhood House of North Richmond, Panhandle Annex Neighborhood Council and West County Toxics Coalition.  Everyone is stating that this for-profit mitigation bank project should include the planned shoreline trail or, alternatively, provide mitigation by completing the spine Bay Trail north to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline.  Respected regional organizations such as the Association of Bay Area Governments, EBRPD, East Bay Bicycle Coalition, Save The Bay and Sierra Club are supporting the people of Richmond..  For an aerial photo of the site and up to date details, see
 http://www.pointrichmond.com/baytrails/.

F. Richmond Bay Trail Outings
Richmond's Bay Trail is featured in a special "Ring Around The Bay" insert in the new issue of Bay Nature magazine.  TRAC hopes that each of you are getting out and enjoying the Bay Trail in Richmond.  If you're looking for a Bay Trail outing, a nice loop starts at the Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Marina Bay Park to Vincent and Shimada Parks, then east toward Pt. Isabel, and back inland via the Meeker Slough branch to return to Marina Bay Park.   A good one-way shoreline walk with a car shuttle starts from Central Avenue either at Rydin Rd or Isabel St. thru Pt. Isabel Regional Shoreline to the Marina Bay Harbor Master's office.  If you're riding your bike, return via Marina Way South, Regatta Blvd and the Meeker Slough route.  Enjoy!
 
RETURN