Opportunities & Challenges

Emeryville has greatly improved the number, acreage, accessibility, and diversity of its park and recreation assets since the previous General Plan was adopted in 1987. That said, it is still a city dominated by roads and buildings where even small amounts of open space stand out. This chapter reviews the City’s existing parks, recreation, and open space facilities—including non-motorized trails—and assesses them against regional standards in order to identify challenges and opportunities.

8.1 Existing Facilities

The section on parks in Emeryville’s 1987 General Plan was brief. It mentioned that only two facilities were available in 1984—the 61st Street Mini Park and Marina Park—for a total of 7.7 acres. As Table 8-1 shows, the City has added six acres of Parks, public open space since then. As of 2005, Emeryville contains Recreation, & 13.74 acres of public open space in eight City-owned parks and Open Space another 30 acres in the Eastshore State Park. 8- In addition to these parks, city residents also have access to Parks, Recreation, and several recreation options, such as the fields at and a trail network, private open space, and regional 8 facilities. Open Space Parks and open space are essential in any city, but become even Table 8-1: City of Emeryville Parks more important in areas of high population density where City Park Play Basketball Acres homes may not include yard space and in places of intense Equipment Court development where landscaping is scarce. These green spaces 61st Street Mini-Park X 0.14 provide opportunities for relaxation, informal sports, passive recreation like walks and bird watching, and a break from the Marina Park 7.56 stresses of everyday life. They also serve as important gathering 1984 subtotal 7.70 places in a community, where people can casually meet or Christie Avenue Park 0.79 simply observe the diversity of lifestyles and backgrounds in their neighborhood. These activities need to be supported with Community Gardens 0.29 an adequate supply of accessible and appropriately developed Davenport Mini-Park 0.44 space. A city should have parks with a distribution and form Point Emery 2.08 that allows them to be enjoyed by workers during the day, used Stanford Avenue Park X X 1.74 by children and the elderly close to their homes, and to serve as a point of focus for residential neighborhoods. Temescal Creek Park X X 0.70 2005 TOTAL 13.74 Emeryville General Plan Update

City Parks Marina Park and Davenport Mini-Park 61st Street Mini-Park These parks, on the tip of the peninsula and just west of the Watergate Commons residential complex respectively, look out The mini-park has play equipment for young children but no over San Francisco Bay. They consist mostly of lawn and other open play area. Located within a residential district, it lies along landscaping, benches, and a dock for fishing and viewing. A the future Greenway so it will be easy to access by foot or bike. stretch of the San Francisco Bay Trail runs along the northern edge of the peninsula, connecting these parks.

Parks, Recreation, & Open Space

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The city’s two oldest parks offer different types of recreation. The 61st Street Mini-Park (top left) provides a playground for neighborhood children, while Marina Park makes available sweeping bay front views, a sense of open space, and a fishing pier. Opportunities & Challenges

Christie Avenue Park This park is dominated by a circular berm, surrounded by a pathway with benches, within which seating is available. The park is across the street from more visible green space in front of . Together, these constitute the only landscaped open space between I-80 and the railroad tracks.

Christie Park is small but provides much needed green space in an area of increasing intensity and usage. Emeryville General Plan Update

Community Garden Point Emery Park Essentially a segment of the new Emeryville Greenway, this new Formerly known as the Ashby Spit, this site was described park space is at the northwest corner of Doyle and 59th streets. The in the 1993 General Plan Update as a privately owned and fenced-in space contains around a dozen raised plots of earth. undeveloped space fenced off to prevent public access, although To the north of the fence are decorative vegetation and a path, used by people for its views, fishing, and recreation. In 1982, which is the main route of the Greenway. Another community the State Department of Parks and Recreation published a garden, run by a local non-profit, is located in southern feasibility study on the proposed Eastshore State Park. This Emeryville at Peralta Street and MacArthur Boulevard. report recommended that Ashby Spit and adjacent land be publicly purchased and developed. It has been transformed into a passive recreation area, with a small parking lot and a pedestrian and bike trail.

Parks, Recreation, & Open Space

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The Community Garden offers small individual planters Point Emery, in contrast, mainly offers unobstructed views of for participating members; it also sits along the route of the San Francisco Bay and of Emeryville itself. Greenway. Opportunities & Challenges

Stanford Avenue Park This park is a linear piece of green space that gives Stanford Avenue the feeling of a parkway, although it is located to the side of the right of way. A small playground and a basketball court are included in the park.

Temescal Creek Park This park is situated over the creek, which runs underground in this location. The park lies behind houses that are located in both Oakland and Emeryville. It includes a basketball court and a cemented performance space, but mostly consists of lawn and benches. Active recreation besides basketball is forbidden.

Parks, Recreation, & Open Space

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Two of the city’s more recent parks serve its eastern residential Temescal Creek Park provides the same amenities in a more neighborhoods. Stanford Avenue Park provides a pleasant place private and shaded environment. Its entrance (shown at top), to rest or play in visible open space created along the street. leads to a ribbon-shaped park with benches, a playground, and a basketball court. Emeryville General Plan Update

Eastshore State Park In coordination with the East Bay Regional Park District, the State of California established the Eastshore State Park in 2002. The park stretches 8.5 miles from Oakland to Richmond along the San Francisco Bay shore and is around 2,250 acres in size. While not a contiguous park, its pieces are linked by the San Francisco Bay Trail.

In addition to much of the water in the bay off of Emeryville, the Eastshore Park includes the peninsula south of Powell Street (excepting the Police and Fire Station), the marshlands along the Crescent from the peninsula to the southern city limits up to I-80, and Shorebird Park, which extends north of the Parks, peninsula up to Point Emery Park. These holdings constitute Recreation, & around 30 acres of land, although the land along the Crescent is Open Space inaccessible due to a lack of pedestrian pathways. The purpose of the park is to preserve aquatic wildlife along the 8- shore while ensuring public access to the vistas and open space of the bay shore. Bird watching is one of the main recreation activities in the Emeryville section of the park. The park’s general plan, reviewed in Chapter 2: Land Use, restricts public access to the shoreline south of the Peninsula.

Non-Public Parks Emeryville includes some open spaces that are maintained by private entities, but which are available for public use. These usually result from development agreements that require large projects to include such space in their campus area. Given the dense nature of Emeryville, with narrow sidewalks, minimal setbacks, and little street landscaping, any green space stands out in the city.

• Pacific Park Plaza has a small lawn on Christie Avenue. No paths approach or cross this green space, emphasizing The portions of Eastshore State Park in the city include its private nature, but it is more visible than the Christie restricted-access marshland south of the Peninsula and the Avenue Park across the street. This park is rarely used, shoreline path north of it. by residents or non-residents. Opportunities & Challenges

• is required to develop a 30,000 San Francisco Bay Trail square foot park at the southwest corner of Hollis and The Bay Trail is a regional trail system that encircles the Bay 53rd streets. This park, preliminarily called Hollis Green, Area, attempting to provide access to shoreline amenities, replaces a proposed City park on Hollis Street between connect parks and neighborhoods, and provide links to non- 53rd Street and Stanford Avenue that was superseded by motorized transportation options. Following the shoreline as development of the Chiron campus. The final site and closely as possible, the Bay Trail system consists of a main trail design of Hollis Green is still being determined as of July 2005. • ’s campus includes a large amount of green space, but it is not accessible to the public, although it is easily visible through their perimeter fence. Pixar’s approved acquisition and development of parcels ad- jacent to their core property does require them to de- velop and cede a 10 foot wide bike and pedestrian path that will run from Park Avenue to 45th Street, behind Parks, the Promenade Shopping Center. Recreation, & Open Space There is also a privately run community garden located at the southernmost edge of Emeryville at 3601-07 Peralta Street, 8- just south of MacArthur Boulevard. The site is owned by the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency and operated by Emeryville Community Organic Gardens.

RecreationAl facilities Active Recreation In 2002, the City signed a 40-year lease agreement with the Emery Unified School District to use Emery Secondary School’s sports facilities during non-school hours. These facilities include just under three acres of recreation fields (Emery Field) which can be used for baseball, soccer, and track, as well as an indoor gym and an outdoor community pool. All three facilities are used by the City Recreation Department for lessons and organized sports. There is also a paved playground behind Anna Yates Elementary School. Indoor classes and activities are also held The lawn in front of Pacific Park Plaza provides needed green space to the Bayshore area, although its configuration at the Emeryville Recreation Center, located at the northeast does not invite public usage (top). The ballfields behind rd corner of San Pablo Avenue and 43 Street, and the Emeryville Emery Secondary School are available to the City Recreation Senior Center. Department (bottom). Emeryville General Plan Update

along with spurs and connectors to points of interest, other trails, recreation sites, and user generators like employment centers and residential neighborhoods. As of 2005, around 240 miles of its ultimate 400 mile length have been developed.

The main Bay Trail runs along or near the Emeryville coastline, with a pedestrian-friendly format on and north of the peninsula but a difficult and disconnected segment in its southern half. The trail has a dedicated, off-street pathway along the coast line from the northern city limits down the coast line and along both sides of the peninsula. Traveling southwards, trail users must then cross under the I-80 overpass along Powell Street and then use the Shellmound Street sidewalk to the southern city limits. Parks, Recreation, & Emeryville Greenway Open Space The Greenway is a series of off-street pedestrian and bike paths that follow an old railroad right-of-way from the northeast to 8- the southwest corners of the city, linking various existing and proposed parks. It intends to provide more connectivity within Emeryville, linking the northeastern residential neighborhoods and new apartments throughout the city with open space and with one another. At its northern end, the Greenway will connect with Berkeley’s Ninth Street Bicycle Boulevard. The southern continuation of the Greenway is unclear, but the vision is for its southern extension to connect with the West Oakland BART station and the Bay Bridge via Mandela Parkway.

A portion of the Greenway will be along Doyle Street from Ocean Avenue to 59th Street, which is being improved with wider sidewalks, traffic calming measures, street trees, and public art. South of 59th Street, the Greenway will rejoin the railroad right-of-way down to Stanford Avenue and over to the active railroad corridor, which it will run along until continuing down Halleck Street. The southern terminus of the Greenway is not yet determined, but one possibility is an extension down The Greenway project will convert an unused and, in places, Horton Street into Oakland. contaminated former railroad right-of-way, running from 65th Street (top) and passing through a greened section of Doyle Street (middle) before proceeding to Powell Street (bottom) and beyond. Opportunities & Challenges

Several proposed parks are intended to be developed along the East Bay Regional Park District st nd Greenway route, such as between 61 and 62 streets along Serving Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the East Bay Doyle Street, the Community Gardens, and the Horton Street Regional Park District (EBRPD) manages around 95,000 acres Landing. These proposals are discussed in more detail later in of park land in 65 parks, along with 29 inter-park trails. These the chapter. Also, a spur off the main Greenway may be pursued th parks include swimming, fishing, camping, golfing, children’s to connect it with the Amtrak station, with extensions on 59 play areas, and banquet facilities. The EBRPD parks are much Street, from Doyle Street to the train station, and along Horton larger than the City’s parks, have different terrain, and support Street from the station to Stanford Avenue. activities that are not generally available in Emeryville. The regional parks charge fees for parking and swimming, although Regional Facilities Emeryville residents can purchase annual memberships, which Parks and Recreation in Oakland and Berkeley cover these fees, at a discount due to their residency in Alameda The greater size, number, and proximity of parks and open County. space in adjacent cities can make them good options for some Emeryville residents. The Oakland Office of Parks and 8.2 Standards Parks, Recreation offers tennis courts and recreation fields for rent as Recreation, & Emeryville’s existing General Plan lays out standards for the well as swimming classes, albeit at a higher rate for non-residents. Open Space acreage and character of parks in the city. This section analyzes It also operates recreation centers, which hold programs and whether the parks, open space, and recreation facilities in can be rented out for private activities after hours. The Golden Emeryville meet these standards, how they compare to the 8- Gate Recreation Center is the closest to Emeryville, located on situation in nearby cities, and how they match up against 62nd Street just east of San Pablo Avenue and three blocks from community expectations. the eastern city limits. This center provides free educational programs, summer day camps for a fee, and a community Overall supply garden. The community garden program provides all members with equitably distributed plots of land for cultivating flowers The 1987 General Plan asserted that with a city population of and produce. Oakland’s small Linden Park is also located near 5,000, four to eight acres of park space would meet national Emeryville, just east of the city limits between 44th and 45th standards for the amount of community open space. Given the streets. city population in the 1980s, this cited standard would require a supply of 0.80 to 1.60 acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents. Two of Berkeley’s parks are located close to Emeryville. The At the time, the City was providing 1.54 acres of public open nearest is Haskell-Mabel Mini-Park, a 0.13 acre park just outside space for every 1,000 Emeryville residents in its two developed the northeast corner of the city, with play areas for toddlers and parks, but 98 percent of this space was located in the Marina school-aged children. Also nearby is San Pablo Park, on Park Park at the far western tip of Emeryville. Street between Russell and Ward streets northeast of Emeryville, a 13 acre recreation facility with athletic fields, basketball and Today, the City provides 13.74 acres of parkland for 8,261 tennis courts, and a children’s play area. The Frances Albrier residents, or a ratio of 1.66 acres per 1,000 residents. In other Community Center in San Pablo Park offers programs similar to those in Oakland, although a fee must be paid by most and . Appendix to the City of Emeryville’s 1993 revised General Plan, P. III-68. charges are higher for non-residents. It can also be rented out . State of California Department of Finance estimate, 2005. for private events. Emeryville General Plan Update

words, while the population has increased by 65 percent over Table 8-2: Parkland Supply of Emeryville and Nearby Cities the last 20 years, the supply of City parkland has increased 78 City Acres of City parkland per percent. If the Eastshore State Park’s nine acres of accessible 1,000 residents land are considered as well, that ratio rises to 2.75 acres of park Emeryville - 1984 1.54 for every 1,000 residents. Table 8-2 compares the parkland Emeryville - 2005 1.66 provisions in these cities with Emeryville of past and present. Oakland 2.94 In comparison, the City of Oakland administers around 1,177 Berkeley 2.36 acres of parkland (not including East Bay Regional parks), South San Francisco 2.13 giving it around 3 acres of parkland for every 1,000 Oaklanders. Excluding regional parks, such as Tilden and Redwood Regional. The City of Berkeley operates around 243 acres of parks, not including the Aquatic Park or regional parks such as Tilden, or 2.36 acres for every 1,000 residents. South San Francisco, a Plaza developments at the time—and the private recreation city somewhat similar to Emeryville in its post-industrial urban services provided to residents of those buildings. In contrast, Parks, form and dominance by business campuses, has around 129 recreation facilities for residents on the east side of the city in  Recreation, & acres of administered parks, or around 2.13 acres for every 1987 were limited to those provided by local schools. The east Open Space 1,000 residents. side also had proportionally more families and elderly residents than the Peninsula. Feedback from a community meeting and Most cities have established park standards as part of their 8-10 questionnaire indicated that the shortage of recreation facilities general plans—typically, these range between three and five on the east side was among the most frequently cited problems acres per 1,000 residents for neighborhood and community of the neighborhoods there. parks. By this measure, Emeryville’s parkland provision remains woefully short. This information led the 1987 Plan to state that “the recreational needs of East Emeryville are not being satisfied adequately.” Distribution and programming Consequently, the 1993 plan update enacted the following Enhancements since the last General Plan policies:

The 1987 General Plan noted that recreation planning in • Small parks and open space areas to serve individual Emeryville must take into account the distribution of the neighborhoods should be developed as opportunities city’s residents—around half in the Watergate and Pacific Park arise. • All parks and recreation facilities should be planned . Based on park acreages listed on City of Oakland’s Parks and Recreation as part of an overall system which integrates outdoor Department website, at http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/parks/parkslisting. open space needs with other public facility needs. For asp, accessed on July 22, 2005. instance, schools should be used as recreation facilities . From Berkeley’s Open Space and Recreation Plan, available at http://www. when not being used by the school. ci.berkeley.ca.us/planning/landuse/plans/generalPlan/eir/4h_spacerec.html, accessed on July 22, 2005. Since 1993, small parks have been developed near residential . From the City of South San Francisco’s Recreation and Community Services Department. List of park locations and amenities available at http://www.ci.ssf. neighborhoods on the Peninsula (Davenport Mini-Park), in ca.us/civica/inc/displayblobpdf2.asp?BlobID=3734, accessed on July 22, 2005. Doyle Street district (Stanford Avenue Park), and in the Triangle Opportunities & Challenges

(Temescal Street Park). Approved residential developments in public events and Marina Park is used for the annual shoreline the Bayfront district will place Christie Avenue Park near many clean up, as well as wetlands education. Regarding security, City residents, as well. parks have encountered problems with vandalism—mostly in Temescal Creek Park—as well as drugs, misuse of equipment, Integration of open space and recreation needs has partially and loitering. It is not clear how much this impacts park users’ occurred with the lease agreement between the City and the sense of security. school district for community use of Emery Secondary School’s sports facilities. Further development of an interlinked parks Current Stakeholder and Resident Perceptions and recreation system will be advanced by the completion of Prior to this report, interviews of stakeholders in the Emeryville the Emeryville Greenway, which will enhance access to and community—such as residents and businesses—were visibility of the city’s existing parks, and the proposed Center conducted and a public visioning session was held to identify for Community Life, which would further integrate Emeryville’s issues important to the Emeryville community. schools, parks, and community recreational facilities. Stakeholders universally cited a need for more parks and open The 1993 plan update also called for parks to be designed Parks, space in Emeryville overall, with some specific suggestions for for low maintenance, including the use of drought-resistant Recreation, & space that could be used for large civic gatherings, particularly vegetation. The City Public Works Department is working with Open Space given the social isolation created by living in tall residential the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) on managing towers. The community is interested in all types of open space— City water usage to consume less water where possible and neighborhood parks, mini-parks, dog parks, greenways, and a 8-11 the Recreation Department is working with the Bay Friendly large central park. The need for active recreational facilities was Landscaping program at www.stopwaste.org to change the way also highlighted, as was the desire for greater accessibility to the public landscapes—and new privately built landscapes to the waterfront. extent possible through conditions of approval—are built in Emeryville. Using drought resistant plants is one of the Bay Public comments on the Emeryville non-motorized trail Friendly practices. The design of portions of the Greenway has system noted that the city overall feels hostile to pedestrians  been reviewed to implement these practices. and bicyclists, due a lack of off-street paths, little connectivity between areas of the city, and high levels of automobile traffic. Furthermore, the 1993 Plan recommended that Emeryville’s The perception was that the situation may be getting worse. open space and recreation system “should provide facilities A bridge over the railroad tracks near Park Avenue is deemed and sites for environmental education, cultural activities, and essential. Some stakeholders cited a problem of implementation community events” and parks should feel secure to users. rather than one of planning, asserting that the City’s Bicycle and Temescal Creek Park is used for environmental education by Pedestrian Plan was not being enacted as written and is altered Anna Yates Elementary School and the Recreation Center’s to suit development projects. As part of the survey conducted after-school program. The park is also used for the annual for the General Plan, provision of more parks and open spaces community wide Earth Day celebration and music concerts on were a priority for residents. weekends in the summer. Christie Park is sometimes used for

. Emails from Peter Schultze-Allen, Environmental Analyst for the City, and from Henry Van Dyke, Director of Public Works, on 29 August 2005. Emeryville General Plan Update

Distribution of Parks and Open Space Development Impacts on Non-Motorized Trails The majority of the City’s developed parkland is concentrated The extension of Shellmound Street to connect with 40th to the west of the railroad tracks, with 8 acres on the peninsula Street, completed in the 1990s, allowed the Bay Trail to avoid and another 2.87 acres in the Bayfront district, making up 79 the Powell Street bridge over the railroad tracks. This kept the percent of City-owned park space. This distribution would trail closer to the shoreline and enabled bicyclists to continue become even more skewed if the Eastshore State Park was taken further along it. However, Shellmound is very auto-oriented into consideration. in its design and appearance. Meanwhile, the development of the East BayBridge Center blocked easy access to Oakland from All of the City’s recreation facilities, however, are located on 40th Street by disrupting the street grid. This development, the the eastern edge of Emeryville. Its public basketball courts, Bay Street project, and IKEA have brought large amounts of recreation fields, and children’s play equipment are located east regional auto traffic to the area, as well. of Doyle Street. Figure 8-1 displays the public parks, open space, and recreation facilities in the city and notes the locations of Meanwhile, the ongoing development of the Powell-Shellmound proposed parks, the likely route of the Emeryville Greenway, and area, with proposed redevelopments along both sides of Powell Parks, the preferred location of the Center for Community Life. The Street from I-80 to the railroad overpass and at the Emeryville Recreation, & figure also marks the quarter mile walking radius—following Marketplace, is bringing more traffic to that intersection, Open Space rights of way— from accessible public parks of significant making it more difficult for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross. size and from the proposed ECCL site. The walking analysis 8-12 therefore excludes the restricted access section of the Eastshore Once the Greenway is completed, the best route for the Bay State Park along the Crescent and also omits parks smaller than Trail may be over the Amtrak overpass – providing a regional half an acre in size—the 61st Street and Davenport mini-parks transportation connection – continuing along 59th Street to and the community gardens. Doyle Street, and then following the Greenway to Oakland. Further development of the Emeryville Public Market site may The figure shows that several parts of Emeryville have no impact this plan. open space nearby, which can pose problems for promoting community spirit and providing a high standard of living. The planning and implementation of the trail is handled by Particularly underserved parts of the city are north of 65th Street, the San Francisco Bay Trail Project, a non-profit organization the South Bayfront district (west of the railroad and south of affiliated with the Association of Bay Area Governments. The Powell Street), the area south of 53rd Street and west of San Pablo Bay Trail Project provides grants to governments and non-profit Avenue, and the southern portion of the Triangle neighborhood. organizations for the completion of undeveloped portions of Much of the area north of Powell Street, including the Doyle the trail. Changes to the route of the trail that require capital residential neighborhood, lacks anything larger than a mini- improvements and signage should be coordinated with the park. The Watergate condominiums on the Peninsula are also Project, which may be able to provide funding. without immediate walking access to public parkland although, in addition to private recreation options, its residents are close Part of the Greenway is being constructed by private to the San Francisco Bay Trail which links directly to Marina development projects in Emeryville. The City is handling Park. The ECCL, which is proposed to include both indoor and landscaping and enhanced sidewalks along Doyle Street, outdoor recreation facilities, would largely serve the Triangle including transforming an automobile turn lane at Doyle and neighborhood and much of the South Hollis area. Opportunities & ChallengesFigure 8-1 Existing and Proposed Parks

City maintained Greenway (in progress)

Eastshore State Park Possible Greenway REET H ST 67T Privately maintained p Proposed Park

#* Recreation Facility ET Bridge/Overpass STRE 66TH B Proposed site A Y for ECCL S Amtrak/Union Pacific T

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E E EET 1/4 mile walk T R H ST 65T to public park City Limits LEY Point Emery E H RK 65TH STREET 1/4 mile walk E O B UE L EN to ECCL site L AV I N S EA LE OC IL S RYV T E R V Sources: M E E ET A E E TR L T S 10 H L City of Emeryville, 2005; 64T E J Acres O Metroscan Data, 2005.

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S T EET Pool and Gym ET STR STRE 53RD !p *# 47TH Eastshore E Chiron - required ET M State Park STRE ER Memorialization p to build 5TH YV ! 4 E I S L PROPOSED S L T E H S S Park A E Center for A O E E N L O Horton StreetR Community Life X R E A T T K P S O M L Landing A A S E N N B D H T L N O S I O T L L ET E L E S R ST D I A T S TH V T A R 45 EE E TR E S N RD E 43

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D. AVE. BLV ENA UR A BU RTH YERB ACA Community W. M Garden . T 3 S 7T 80 H ST. E A AT T RST L TE E 580 A IN TAT R ERS E INT P Emeryville General Plan Update

59th streets into a community garden. Meanwhile, the Glashaus, Elevation 22, and Liquid Sugar residential developments have all been responsible for constructing paths and landscaping for the Greenway. Chiron and Sherwin-Williams’ proposed redevelopment are also expected to contribute to the Greenway system.

8.3 Deficiencies and Planned Improvements

The parks, open space, and recreation network of Emeryville faces three main issues: a shortage of park space, a lack of accessibility, and an absence of active recreation facilities.

Parks, Shortage of Park Land Recreation, & Open Space As noted in the previous section, a near-universal point of interviews and visioning sessions with community stakeholders indicated that Emeryville needs more park space. Since the last 8-14 General Plan in 1987, the City has exceeded the standard it set for park acreage relative to population. It has also built park space at a faster rate than its population growth—a 78 percent increase in parks versus a 65 percent increase in population.

Still, Emeryville residents are provided with a smaller amount of parkland than are residents in nearby and comparable cities. While the addition of the Eastshore State Park improves this comparison, the figures provided earlier for both Oakland and Berkeley do not include other open space facilities within their city limits, such as the East Bay Regional parks and the University of California campus and botanic gardens.

Furthermore, Emeryville’s daytime population has greatly increased since the last General Plan, with current City estimates ranging between 25,000 and 35,000. This influx of workers, shoppers, and students more than triples the city’s population

Residential developments, such as Elevation 22 (top) and Liquid Sugar and Oliver Lofts (middle) are being built immediately next to the Greenway. The approved Glashaus development will . Emails from City Recreation Director Suzanne Wallace and City Planning be located next to this already-completed Greenway segment Director Charles Bryant on 25 August 2005 and 29 August 2005, respectively. (bottom). Opportunities & Challenges during an average weekday. These workers are also looking for Waterfront places to relax, eat lunch, meet friends, and take walks. Taking While the Eastshore State Park and Point Emery Park contain this population into account, and even considering open space almost 33 acres of open space between them, the parks are not available to the public such as in Pixar’s campus, the ratio difficult to reach by foot. Park users, even those living in the of park users to park space becomes very low—below 1 acre per northern part of the city, must go to Powell Street to cross I-80 1,000 people. and then take the path or access road along the shore to access these shoreline parks. The route can be long and unpleasant for Accessibility pedestrians and bicyclists. Meanwhile, the roughly 22 acres of Community members have noted that parks and open space in park land to the south of the peninsula are undeveloped and Emeryville can be hard to reach easily. There are a number of inaccessible by road or path. factors that can play a role in park accessibility. Regional Parks Signage As noted earlier, the East Bay Regional Parks District offers Given the small size and out-of-the way locations of most of space, features, and activities unavailable in Emeryville. Parks, the City parks, prominent signs are needed to discover their However, there are no EBRPD parks in Emeryville, although the Recreation, & presence. However, several of the parks have little to no signage Eastshore State Park was part of their system, and reaching the Open Space announcing their existence, making them difficult to find parks through public transit is not easy. Getting to the EBRPD or indistinguishable from privately-maintained open space. facility nearest to Emeryville City Hall, which is Lake Temescal 8-15 Examples include: at a distance of 4.5 miles, requires three bus rides and one hour of time. Reaching other parks by public transit takes longer or • The Community Gardens are not signed to indicate that is not possible. these are publicly available or to provide information on how to participate. Distribution • The entrance to the Temescal Creek Park is difficult to The additions of Christie Avenue, Stanford Avenue, and Temescal find. While visible from Adeline Street through a fence, Creek parks in the last fifteen years has provided open space access there is no indication that the entrance is on 47th Street. to much of the Doyle and Triangle residential neighborhoods The entrance itself does not obviously lead into the and the North Bayfront district. Still, Emeryville’s parks are not park and is unsigned. easily reached from the city’s residential districts, a problem • The lack of a sign at Christie Avenue Park, along with that will increase as residential developments are built in the the view into the park being blocked by its berm, center of the city. The construction of proposed parks at Horton makes it unclear to passersby that this is a public park Street Landing and in the Park Avenue District, and particularly where people can sit, especially given the more vis- the creation of recreation fields at the preferred ECCL site, ible but clearly private green space across the street at would greatly improve the situation. Besides the Greenway in Pacific Park Plaza. northeastern Emeryville, there are no proposals to improve the

. Trip planning done through www.511.org, leaving City Hall at 12:30 PM on Friday or Saturday, taking the fastest trip while walking no more than ¼ mile. Emeryville General Plan Update

supply and accessibility of open space north of 65th Street, and Emeryville Greenway the ECCL would not provide needed passive green space for the Already under construction, the Greenway will link together the southern Triangle neighborhood and residences south of Pixar, parks along Doyle Street and the railroad tracks with residential such as the Bridgecourt Apartments. areas and other trail systems. Ideally, it will make finding and accessing many of the city’s parks easier and safer. The details Pedestrian and Bike Trail Coherence and Connectivity of its southernmost segment are still being planned, but it may The sole existing non-motorized trail in the city—the San provide a clear connection for the San Francisco Bay Trail from Francisco Bay Trail—faces two problems of accessibility: Emeryville into Oakland, although capital improvements may segments that are difficult to traverse and the lack of continuation be needed in Oakland to complete the connection. into Oakland. Both the Powell Street underpass and Shellmound Street are hostile environments for pedestrians. Nonetheless, Center for Community Life without another route that keeps close to the shoreline or links The proposed ECCL would be located at the site of the AC with parks or cultural resources, this is the best option for the Transit yards, across 47th Street from Emery High School. As of Bay Trail. Furthermore, the trail has no connection between Parks, late June 2005, the ECCL plan calls for the integration of Emery Shellmound Street and its next segment on Mandela Parkway Recreation, & High’s recreational facilities into the center, the transformation in Oakland. Open Space of 47th Street into a park, and the construction of an additional gymnasium, a dance and fitness studio, and another outdoor Active recreation 8-16 recreation field. These facilities would be shared between the None of the parks in Emeryville offer opportunities for active school district and the community. The ECCL is described in recreation—such as running, impromptu field sports, and more detail in Chapter 7: Public Facilities. team activities—with the exception of a few basketball courts. Emeryville’s public parks are quite small in size and only support Horton Street Landing passive recreation, like walking and gardening. This park would provide a small plaza at the eastern terminus of the proposed pedestrian connection over the railroad tracks The only location for active recreation in the city is Emery rd Secondary School, although its playing fields and swimming from just south of 53 Street to the Bay Street retail and housing pool are often scheduled by the school system or the Recreation development. The connection would link a regional shopping Department for organized sports. Children’s play equipment destination, residences, workers and jobs at Chiron, and possible is also located in several places throughout eastern Emeryville, users and destinations from the proposed Sherwin-Williams at the 61st Street Mini-park, Stanford Avenue Park, Temescal redevelopment. It would also allow pedestrians and bicyclists Creek Park, and at Anna Yates Elementary School. in the Bayshore district and peninsula to more easily connect with the Emeryville Greenway and the parks proposed for the Proposed Facilities railroad corridor and Park Avenue district. As of summer 2005, the City is considering proposals for As of summer 2005, roughly 2.4 acres of land have been allocated additional park and recreation facilities. If all completed as for the Horton Street Landing. Access to and development of planned, these new facilities would alleviate or lessen many of the park is dependent on contributions from Chiron, Bay Street, the deficiencies highlighted above. and Sherwin Williams. Opportunities & Challenges

Other Proposed Parks Parks and open spaces have been proposed throughout the Park Avenue district. Besides the extension of the Greenway along the railroad tracks from Stanford Avenue to Halleck Street, these proposals include a central green within the Sherwin-Williams redevelopment, a public plaza at the western terminus of Park Avenue, as well as a “central park” and a cultural center plaza in the area.

The City also may purchase the entire block between 61st, 62nd, Doyle, and Hollis Streets—the “Dutro site”—and transform it from an industrial use into a park.

8.4 Planning Issues and Implications Parks, The following discussion identifies opportunities and challenges Recreation, & related to the city’s parks, open space, and recreation facilities. Open Space These findings will be addressed during the preparation of land use alternatives, as well as through General Plan policies and 8-17 programs.

1. What park standards are appropriate for Emeryville and how should deficiencies be addressed? While Emeryville has substantially increased park acreage over the past 20 years, the current park provision (1.7 acres per 1,000 residents) is woefully inadequate for a growing population and a city with a substantial day- time population. Emeryville lags in parkland provision compared to surrounding cities such as Berkeley and Oakland, which in addition have greater access to re- gional parks. The need for parkland is especially press- ing given the high-density nature of development in Emeryville, where people lack access to private yards. At a reasonable standard of 3.0 acres per 1,000 residents, Several proposed public parks would convert current or former the city’s current park need would be about 25 acres, or industrial land, such as Horton Street Landing (top) at the terminus of 53rd Street, space along the railroad next to the about eleven acres more than currently provided. For Sherwin-Williams development (middle), and the Dutro site a hypothetical future city population of 12,000, at 3.0 (bottom) near the 61st Street Mini-Park. Emeryville General Plan Update

acres per 1,000 residents, the parkland need would be with other agencies to develop joint facilities, such as it 45 acres. Because of Emeryville’s infill and built out set- is pursuing for the Center for Community Life with the ting, provision of new parkland would be expensive and School District. finding sites large enough to accommodate new parks 3. Should a new large city park be provided and, if so, difficult. Nonetheless, provision of sufficient and easily where should it be sited? The need for a large city park— accessible parks, especially for active recreation, is one centrally located and easily accessible to residents—has of the fundamental contributors to livability, which has been raised by several stakeholders (including decision- been raised as a principal consideration for the General makers) as part of community outreach for the General Plan update during initial community outreach. Plan. Such a park could serve multiple functions, in- 2. What funding mechanisms need to be instituted to cluding recreation, civic functions, and special events. support new parks? One of the major challenges the If such a park is desirable, how large should it be, and City is likely to face is finding adequate funding for ac- where should it be located? In order to serve a commu- quisition, development, operations, and maintenance nity need, such a park would need to be a minimum of Parks, of park sites. The City currently does not maintain park five to six acres in size. Recreation, & dedication or in lieu fee requirements for new devel- Open Space 4. How should new parks be sized and distributed? To opment, instead relying on individual developments maximize park accessibility, as part of the General Plan to provide park and open space acreage sufficient for 8-18 update the City should consider using park accessibility resident needs. However, such a process does not result criteria for locating future parks. Accessibility standards in creation of a cohesive overall public park and recre- typically would ensure that at least one park is within a ation system, with parks sized, designed, and accessible five to ten-minute walk (1/4- to 1/2-mile distance) of all to all residents. Furthermore, as the size of individual residents. Additionally, expansion of the city’s bicycle development sites available shrinks due to decreased and pedestrian networks could improve local access to land availability, the current approach will be unable to park sites. generate parks of usable acreage. 5. What should be the location of open space at the ECCL.? California Government Code Section 66477 (also If the ECCL is built at its preferred location—the cur- known as the Quimby Act), permits cities to require rent AC Transit depot—initial proposals include con- dedication or the payment of fees toward providing structing a recreation field on the site. The City needs to parkland at a standard of three acres per thousand determine whether this outdoor field should be located residents, unless higher parkland acreage is currently at its western end in order to provide a more central provided, in which case the fee/dedication requirement location that is sheltered from high traffic volumes and could be as high as the currently available acreage, to nuisances along San Pablo Avenue. a maximum of five acres per 1,000 residents. This tool is used by numerous cities and is readily available to 6. Is it possible to create an access point to Point Emery Emeryville. However, to use the Quimby Act, the City and the northern bay shore? The State and City park will need to establish park acreage standards. In addi- land located along the northern coast line of Emeryville tion, the City should continue exploring partnerships does not provide accessible open space to residents in Opportunities & Challenges

the northern section of the city. While popular for the views and fresh air along the bike and pedestrian trail in that area, the only access point to this parkland is from Powell Street, at the base of the Peninsula. The fu- ture redevelopment of the Ashby interchange on I-80 may provide the opportunity to create an access point over the highway, thereby increasing park accessibility in Emeryville without having to create more parkland. 7. How do building heights affect open space? As building heights in the city increase overall, they will affect the character and feel of open space in Emeryville. Christie Avenue Park, for example, will feel much different with the completed eight-story Christie Towers development Parks, next to it. The updated General Plan needs to consider Recreation, & how to permit heights that accentuate open space— Open Space making it seem more comfortable and safer—without overwhelming it, which includes not just height limits 8-19 but also upper-story building stepbacks. Design guide- lines will also need to ensure that shadows are not cast over parks by new structures and that parks are not made inhospitable by wind corridors generated by tall buildings. Emeryville General Plan Update

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