Chevron's unhappy trails

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

IN THE PAST eight years, the portion of the Bay Trail running through Richmond has nearly doubled to 24 miles, thanks to the efforts of some determined volunteers and good-spirited neighbors. But the effort to close one of the key three-quarter-mile gaps in the trail keeps butting against a recalcitrant Chevron, which claims that a trail through its land would pose a security risk.

"They're being disingenuous here," said Bruce Beyaert, a former Chevron employee, who is chair of the Trails for Richmond Action Committee.

As Beyaert noted, about 77,000 motor vehicles and plenty of bicyclists now cut through the area on Interstate 580. He suggested it would be far safer -- for cyclists and the security of refinery operations -- for Chevron to allow a fenced bike path on its land to facilitate the Bay Trail connection between Point Richmond and Point Molate. He noted that Chevron could install "monitors, sensors, bells and whistles ... whatever it wants" -- and the path would be closed at sundown. He also makes a good case that Chevron's proposal to put the bike path north of the freeway is impractical because of the tight space and presence of huge pipelines against a rocky hillside.

The Bike Trail advocates are turning up the heat, and one of its options would be to get the State Lands Commission to pull Chevron's lease on a port at Point Richmond. A better path for Chevron would be to act as a good neighbor and help clear the way for the trail.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/03/EDGEBOS78A1.DTL

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