[BATN] El Cerrito plans Ohlone Greenway improvement, extension Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2005 11:15:05 -0700 Published Friday, July 1, 2005, in the Contra Contra Times El Cerrito draws plans for path extension By Alan Lopez STAFF WRITER EL CERRITO - About 30 years after the Ohlone Greenway was built, resident Steve Price rides his bike to his Berkeley office every morning on the landscaped pedestrian and bike path running through the center of the city. "It's a great city resource," said Price, a member of the city's design review board. "It's a great joy for me to go out there and see people out there every morning. There are a lot of seniors out there getting exercise; a lot of people going to work; bicycling and walking to the BART station." The city is planning the future of the path. Years from now, residents may see an expansion northward, as well as dog runs, solar-powered emergency phone boxes and more -- if the money can be found. In January, 2004, the city hired San Francisco-based Tenaka Design Group for up to $21,895 to help design a conceptual plan for the path. An eight-page map so far includes a detailed examination of the state of the Greenway and potential improvements. The park and recreation commission toured one half of the greenway last week to get a sense of how the changes could work. The commission will complete the tour at its July 27 meeting. The changes include, for example, proposed plantings to screen an existing electrical transformer near Central Avenue. South of that, the city would install a solar-powered emergency phone. Landscape improvements, seating and play areas, trash cans and interpretive signs would dot the park. The plan proposes a dog run between Portola Drive and Schmidt Lane. The plan also proposes to realign some of the path to improve site lines or move it away from BART poles. To implement the plan would cost the city $3.7 million. The plan will allow the city to apply for grants that may be available if state voters approve a bond measure that will potentially be on the ballot two years from now, said recreation director Monica Kortz. "There might be more grant funding," said Kortz, "and unless we have a plan, we can't apply for grant funds." Grants however, are no sure thing. A state agency last week rejected an application from the city for a $204,000 grant that would have helped pay for an extension of the bike path north onto a 1.6-acre parcel. The city will likely begin a creek restoration on that parcel in mid-August and will seek out other grants for the greenway extension, Bradshaw said. The greenway has seen a number of changes over the years. Formerly a right-of-way for the Santa Fe Railroad, the city installed the bike path in the late 1970s, Price said. It now extends south through Albany and ends at the North Berkeley BART station. But usage didn't pick up until the 1990s, after volunteers began planting trees and shrubs paid for with a grant. "It's the first or second most heavily used community resource," Price said. "That's because of the trees; that's the key to getting people out to use the facility. It was underutilized before the trees came in." Melanie Mintz, El Cerrito's environmental analyst, said the city will add 301 shrubs and 104 trees to the Baxter Creek restoration site north of the Ohlone Greenway. But parks commissioner Rosemary Loubal became alarmed last week after she said she learned during the greenway tour that the city was going to remove all non-native trees, from Wall to Conlon avenues on the north end of the trail. It's an area she's calling "Arroyo Seco." She believed that the rejection of the $204,000 grant was a "stay of execution" for the trees. As for the rest of the project, "at least we can fix the creek," said Loubal. "The pathway can wait." Reach Alan Lopez at 510-243-3578 or at alopez1@cctimes.com Email article texts/URLs for posting to . Manage your subscription by sending a blank email message to: BATN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe, BATN-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com to unsubscribe, BATN-digest@yahoogroups.com to switch email to digest mode, BATN-normal@yahoogroups.com to switch email to normal mode, BATN-nomail@yahoogroups.com to switch email delivery off. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN for web access & archives. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: BATN-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/